Draco Malfoy and that Girl from America
by aRebel aSaint
Summary: Updated: Everything seems back to normal with Draco and Alyssa, Harry's possibly found a new interest, and Brad's wife is pregnant. But now it seems as if new trouble is stirring with the new uprise of Death Eaters. Will this mean another battle to fight?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Told you it'd be up quickly, but yes here is the first chapter of the sequel! Thanks so much for the last reviews, I'm very appreciative. So here's this one and tell me what you think...

and incase you haven't read the first one you definately should or else you'll have no idea what's going on.

Enjoy!

* * *

The hot sun beat down from the clear Romanian skies, and no one felt the heat more than the dragon tamers. Since early that morning they had been working nonstop on a new shipment of dragons. There were three baby Hungarian Horntails and all had nasty tempers. They had gotten two of the dragons settled down and in their cages, but one – named Brutus – was still causing trouble. He had coursed through a rain storm the previous week and was now suffering from a cold making him put up more of a fight.

Sweat trickled down her back as she held as tight as she could onto the chain that was collared around his neck and strung out into a leash. Brutus was swinging his head back and forth and she could barely keep her legs fastened.

"I could use a little help here!" She shouted as she swayed dangerously forward.

Alex rolled his eyes from his position on the ground. He pulled the chain tighter from around Brutus's ankle and hooked it onto the bottom of his cage.

"It's not as easy as it looks, Bennington!" He shouted up at her with a smile.

"That's hard to believe," She grumbled before being thrown of the dragons back. She somersaulted in midair and grunted as she landed hard on the dirt ground.

"Alyssa!" Brad shouted, and sent Alex – who was bent over laughing – a dirty look.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." She shoved herself off the ground and wiped the dirt off her pants. She glared at Brutus before shouting, "That's it," She growled; she swung her arms from Brutus to the direction of the half empty cage and the dragon was sent flying into it, crashing into the back and flipping over backwards. He breathed out a gust of flames and grazed Alex's shoulder as he rushed forward to fasten his chains. She took a few deep breaths and some steps back and wiped the hair from her sticky face with her dirt covered hand as drips of sweat fell over her brow.

"Everyone, move in!" Alyssa shouted. And as Alex backed away the rest of the tamers closed in on the cage and finally restrained the dragon. "You okay?" She asked Alex as she walked over to him. He was being attended to by a Healer and winced as he was being poked and prodded by their wand.

"Just a flesh wound," He said with a wolfish grin.

She rolled her eyes and took off her dirt covered tank top only leaving her sports bra. She sat down on the table next to him as he got healed up. A few minutes passed before Brad came over and handed her an ice cold water bottle. He wiped the sweat off his forehead as he twisted open the cap and chugged some of it down.

"You want to help with the next dragon?" He asked.

"Ha!" Alyssa clapped her hands together after taking a sip of water. "I am done for the day… nothing would give me more satisfaction than taking a nice cool shower." She took down more sips of water before hopping off the table and walking back towards the Shack. Brad walked next to her; their feet crunching on the dry dirt below them.

"That was pretty swift – what you just pulled off, I mean." Brad commented.

Alyssa shrugged, "I'm getting pretty sick of being thrown of dragons; I've got bruises to show for it." She replied. "Besides – it was nothing too fancy."

"You took out a dragon." Brad said sardonically, causing Alyssa to laugh. Their faces relaxed once they were covered by the shade of the roof. Although it was called 'the Shack,' the place was actually quite striking. The tamers that were regulars – like Brad and Alyssa – all pitched in to create a place where they could all spend their down time or crash for a few days. There were three different levels and was supplied with bedrooms and bathrooms. There was also a kitchen and a living room that was equipped with couches and even a television. Alyssa walked briefly into the kitchen to stick her water bottle in the fridge before walking up to the top level with Brad following.

Alyssa had stayed there for the past few days; it was the last days she'd be working for a while so she wanted to spend as much time as possible with her friends there. She walked over to one of the beds and reached under it where her duffel bag was.

Brad leaned against the doorway and looked at his watch – it was almost three in the afternoon. "So are you takin' off tonight?" He asked.

"I thought you were going to the bar later." Alyssa said. She dropped the bag onto her bed and pulled out a fresh set of clothes.

"Well, I am, I just wanted to know what your plans were."

She also grabbed her comb and set it with the clean clothes. "I'm going to Oliver's first thing tomorrow to get the rest of my things." She replied.

"What do you mean?"

Alyssa shrugged her shoulders, "This isn't gonna be a quick visit for me, Brad. I'll be there for a while so I'll be needing my stuff to last me a while."

Brad pushed himself off the doorway and set down his water bottle. "Wait – what? How long are you staying? I thought you were just going for the wedding."

She rolled her eyes and crossed the room with her things to put in the bathroom. She opened the window so the room wouldn't fill with steam before walking back out to look at Brad.

"I've seen Ginny _once_ since I left Hogwarts, Brad." She started slowly, "And I haven't seen anyone else, I don't want to just stop in for a wedding and then disappear again." Brad nodded understandingly. "Speaking of," She added, "You're definitely going to the wedding, right?"

"I thought about it." Brad said stiffly.

"Brad, you've got to go. I'll need some sort of mental support going back to England and all… besides, I already told Ginny you were going."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going. No worries – I just need to get a nice tux."

Alyssa smiled triumphantly as she pulled an envelope out of her bag before throwing it back under her bed. She walked over to Brad and handed the envelope to him.

"Here's the invitation," She said, "I have an extra one at Oliver's so you can take this one; don't want you conveniently forgetting what date it is."

Brad pulled out the glittering invitation and looked it over before a thought occurred to him. "Shouldn't you be taking Oliver instead?" He asked curiously. She gave him an odd look and he dropped his hands to his sides. "You're not ending it with him, are you?"

She shrugged slightly and shifted on her feet. "I'd thought about it… he's just so caught up with Quidditch – I don't think he'll ever be able to have a real relationship. Plus I'd rather you be there with me. I don't think he'd understand…" She trailed unable to finish her sentence but was comforted at Brad's nod. "Anyway, I'll be in the shower. Looks like you could use one, too." She added looking him up and down. His white t-shirt was covered with sweat and dirt and his shorts were ripped at the hem. He rolled his eyes at her and she turned to walk into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

It wasn't long before she stepped out of the shower and combed through her hair. She observed herself as she got dressed; Alyssa hadn't changed much in the three years that had passed. Her chest was slightly fuller, her hips were slightly wider, and she had grown a grand total of one inch. The two inch long scar on her abdomen was as prominent as ever; she always thought that'd be the one thing that would never change. Her violet eyes still shined brightly and her black hair cascaded in smooth waves down to her waist. And since she had started working with dragons and realized how physically demanding it was, she got into ridiculously good shape. She had gotten dressed for the bar later that night so she was wearing dark denim jeans and a black halter top.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. "What is it?" She mumbled as she put up her hair in a loose bun to dry.

"I need to use the bathroom." Alex replied.

"There're three other bathrooms in this building for a reason." She answered back. She opened the door to see Alex standing in the middle of the room with his arms crossed. Alex was also American; from Florida. He was around 5 foot, ten inches with broad shoulders and a buff chest. He had scars all over his upper body, mostly around his forearms where he'd gotten burnt or otherwise injured by a dragon. He had moved to Romania with his family when he was sixteen and without hesitation entered the career of being a dragon tamer.

"It just so happens that they're conveniently occupied." He said with a smirk. She rolled her eyes and impatiently wiped away the drops of water that fell from her hair. She turned around to grab her clothes and as she stepped out of the bathroom, Alex shoved himself in and shut the door behind him.

She walked over to her bed and pulled on her boots before heading back downstairs where she found everyone dressed and ready to go. Brad was down there, along with Jamie and Trish (two Romanian girls), Eric and Samantha (from England), and Daniel (from Scotland). Once Alex came back downstairs they left the Shack and apparated to a safe spot outside of the small Muggle town their usual pub was located. As soon as they entered the pub, they were greeted with the smell of cigarettes and the near deafening sound of blasting music. Brad raised his hand to the bartender indicating a round of drinks. They sat down at their usual spot which was a large round leather booth in a dark, candlelit corner of the room.

Soon enough, Orlando – the good looking bartender – came around carrying a tray topped with eight mugs of beer.

"What's the occasion tonight, ladies?" Orlando slurred.

Jamie wrapped her arm around Alyssa's shoulder with a pout on her face, "Our loved one is leaving for England tomorrow," She said sadly.

Orlando quirked his lips, "Ah, well let's make this a good one then, yeah? Drinks are on me." He said with a wink.

Alyssa shook her head immediately, "No, Orlando, you really don't have to do that." She winced as Alex suddenly pinched her side.

"Oh, please. No problem – it's the least I can do, Bennington." He tucked his tray under his arm before turning to leave, "I'll round back in a few."

Alyssa rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat, "You guys are so ridiculous."

"But you love us anyway, isn't that right?" Trish said. She looked around the bar after him, "Now let everyone finish their drinks so he can round back."

"You're unbelievable!" Sam scoffed, "Why don't you stop wasting time and make a move on the bloke; you've been after him for ages."

"Do you want me to say something?" Alyssa suggested. She looked over at Alex who rolled his eyes while taking a sip of his drink.

"No! Don't do that!" Trish said waving her hands, "What if that comes off too desperately?"

"And going mad behind his back isn't desperate?" Alex mumbled in Alyssa's ear.

"That's exactly why you should go up to him yourself." Sam said, "You're getting too old for this nonsense."

"Bloody hell," Eric said, "I'll sodding do it if it gets you to stuff it."

"Please, do." Sam agreed, sighing loudly. Eric stood up from the booth and disappeared into the crowd. Trish shouted after him and stumbled out of her seat as she tried to follow suit. "Ah," Sam cooed, "Young love."

"So I'd like to propose a toast," Dan shouted over the music, "To our lovely Alyssa, who livened things up around here, and who is sadly leaving our presence to go to England, for hopefully a short period of time." He looked over at Alyssa as he raised his mug and sent her a wink.

"To Alyssa," They all said raising their mugs; they clanked their mugs together before taking a swig.

"That was touching, Dan," Alyssa said rolling her eyes. She shared a look with Brad who raised his eyebrows and nodded sarcastically. As everyone set their mugs down, Eric came back to the table and scooted into the booth.

"Did you talk to him?" Sam said smiling.

"I wasn't even planning on doing anything," Eric said, shaking his head and grabbing his beer. "All I had to do was walk towards the bloke and Trish took off, grabbed him, pulled him off somewhere and I lost sight." He raised the mug to his lips and started chugging it down.

"Ah, the empty threat," Sam mused.

"Who else wants to order food?" Jamie asked looking at the menu. Brad, Alex, Sam and Dan all raised their hands so she looked up for a waiter.

"Don't worry 'bout it." Eric said standing up again, "I'm gonna get us some more drinks as well."

"That man is going to drink himself into a stupor." Alyssa said shaking her head after him.

Brad laughed and Alex rolled his eyes saying, "You say that as if it's new to us."

"So why are you going to England, anyway?" Jamie asked Alyssa.

"Well," Alyssa started after setting down her mug, "It's my best friends wedding in like… two weeks. And I haven't seen her or any of my friends from Hogwarts in years, so I thought it'd be time to visit."

Jamie nodded her head in agreement. Alyssa hadn't exactly filled the people from Romania in on what had happened during her short time at Hogwarts. All they knew was that she had a complicated relationship and made some great friends. They didn't even know she had left the school year early; if you were to ask them, they'd say she took the exams and passed with flying colors. Alyssa decided ahead of time she wasn't going to tell them; it would just avoid lots of questions that were extremely difficult to answer.

The next morning, Alyssa woke up around seven in the morning still dressed in her clothes from the night before and slightly hung over. She raised her head from her pillow to see Jamie and Dan sleeping on either side of her. Muffling a groan, she rolled out of bed and slumped to the floor. She had already said her goodbye's to everyone so she decided to be as quiet as possible and let everyone sleep. There was no point in changing considering she'd be showering later at Oliver's flat so she slipped her boots back on, grabbed her duffel bag and her purse, and headed downstairs.

It was another bright and sunny day, the light poured through the windows lighting up the kitchen and living room of the Shack. She walked quietly down each step and into the kitchen to get a drink of orange juice.

"Morning, Alyssa."

Alyssa – stifling a scream – grabbed the nearest object and held it in front of her to face her attacker, only to sigh in relief and press her back against the fridge.

"Jeez, Elizabeth – you scared the _shit_ out of me." Alyssa snapped.

Elizabeth smirked at her as she flipped a page of the morning paper. "Sorry, and a bit of advice – I don't think an orange juice carton would've saved you."

Alyssa cocked an eyebrow and looked down at the carton that she had almost used as a weapon. "What the hell are you doing here so early, anyway?" She asked instead. She turned back around to put the carton back in the fridge and sipped at her glass of juice waiting for a response.

"I have an early meeting, thought I'd stop by and see Brad." She replied.

"Brad's not even awake." Alyssa reasoned. Yet seconds later the front door opened and Brad walked into the kitchen holding a black charred object. "What the hell is that?" She asked.

He held it up in front of his face and scrunched his nose, "It _was_ my boot. But Alice decided to burn the life out of it." He frowned mockingly before throwing the boot in the trash. He walked over to the table Elizabeth was sitting at and bent down to kiss her cheek. Alyssa rolled her eyes and turned away from the pair. For eight months Brad and Elizabeth had been married. Liz had light brown curly hair, was usually cheery and had an ever-present glow that was slightly unnerving. She was about two inches taller than Alyssa but was nowhere near the same physical condition she was in which made her look a bit too skinny for comfort. Alyssa, of course, had picked out the annoying things out from her first, but in truth Elizabeth wasn't that bad. Alyssa couldn't think of a better older sister in law.

Alyssa checked her watch after finishing her drink and put the glass in the sink. "Well, I must be going." She grabbed her bag back off the floor and slung it over her shoulder. "Brad, I'll see you at the wedding?" He nodded and she reached up to give him a hug and kiss his cheek. "Catch you later, Elizabeth."

"Have fun." She replied.

About two minutes later she had apparated in front of the door to Oliver's flat in Scotland. She fished through her bag to get the key, unlocked the door and stepped in. She sighed and dropped her bag to the floor and looked around. Obviously the flat looked like it hadn't been lived in for weeks; Quidditch was in season which meant Oliver was traveling around the world playing for his team. Since they had started dating, his flat had become like a second home to her besides the Shack back in Romania. Alyssa hadn't been to the Bennington Estate in ages; the last time she was there was after the war ended. Her mom had decided to take some time off work and after the 'fiasco' with Alyssa, she had finally figured out that there had been too many lost years and wanted time to bond. It was the only few solid months Alyssa had been back home since she was a kid.

She bent over to pick up the old Owl post from the floor and moved into the kitchen sorting through envelopes. Most of them were addressed to Oliver so she didn't even bother looking thoroughly. The only useful thing was another invitation to Ginny's wedding so she stuffed that back into her duffel bag. Looking at her watch she noticed that there were only five hours left until she'd be meeting up with Ginny and Blaise. Butterflies coursed through her stomach; it had literally felt like a lifetime since Alyssa had last seen everyone. She looked at her watch once more and decided to take a shower and afterwards changed into a yellow sundress anticipating nice weather in England.

Out of her duffel bag she pulled out a small box and after placing on the floor and flicking her wand it enlarged into a suitcase. She rolled it into the bedroom and started packing. She hadn't been there in a while so the clothes in her dresser were folded and clean and were easily transferred to the suitcase.

An hour and a half passed and she was done packing. She could've sworn she was forgetting something but she had packed just about everything so it would have to do. She headed back into the kitchen and searched the fridge. Thankfully there was a bottle of Butterbeer and she pulled off the top and took a giant swig. Suddenly the door swung opened and slammed into the wall; Alyssa spat out her drink as she took another sip and instinctively pulled out her wand. She peered around the corner only to see a bag being tossed through an empty doorway.

A second later Oliver walked through the doorway holding another bag and dropped it to the floor. He looked up and, startled, raised his hands in defeat at seeing Alyssa standing there with her wand pointed at him.

"S'all right, it's just me." He said nervously as she let out a breath of relief.

"What is with people scaring the _crap_ out of me today?" She said exasperatedly.

He smiled a crooked grin and crossed the room to pull her into a tight hug. "What are you doing here?" She mumbled into his chest.

"Not happy to see me?"

Alyssa rolled her eyes and pulled away slightly so she could see him – although it didn't do much considering he was a good five inches taller than her. "Of course I'm happy to see you! I just wasn't expecting it with Quidditch and all."

He shrugged looking down at her, "How could I miss you leave? I already haven't seen you in weeks, who knows how long it'll be till next time." He said charmingly. She sighed as he lowered his head to press his lips to hers in a chaste kiss. "So what time are you leaving?"

"I'm meeting Ginny at one… so a bit before that, I guess." He nodded and took off his jacket to hang up on the coat rack. "What's all the baggage for?" She asked.

Oliver shrugged again, "Just some Quidditch stuff." He adjusted his ruffled shirt causing her eyes to go wide; there was a large, dark purple bruise covering his collar bone, possibly running even further down than that.

"What the hell happened to you?" She demanded. She took a few steps forward and brought her hands to his chest to move the shirt out of the way and get a better look at it.

"Nothing that'll kill me," He said rolling his eyes. He covered her hand with his and said, "You want to make me better?" Alyssa cocked a brow and looked up at him to see he was smirking at her – it was her time to roll her eyes.

"Ha-Ha, _funny_," She took a slight step backwards smiling at him, "No thanks; I'm already showered, clean and ready to go."

"Ah!" Oliver exclaimed gleefully, "Just how I like 'em." He bent over and scooped her into his arms, setting off down towards the bedroom.

"Oliver, no!" Alyssa protested slapping at his arms. "I just showered!" But her shouts were ignored and turned to muffles as he kicked the bedroom door shut behind him.

During the war, Alyssa had decided to help the only way she could. She volunteered as a Healer in different Wizarding hospitals for people who were injured from fighting in the war or just any other injury in general. Among one of her patients, Oliver Wood had been admitted – unsurprisingly, suffering broken bones and a concussion from a Quidditch match. Alyssa was quite astonished to have met him; she, along with pretty much anyone who followed Quidditch, heard about him and his talent. And she had absolutely no shame in admitting she had been a bit star-struck when he came in.

When she first met him, he had complimented her on how pretty she looked. Obviously, she thought he was delirious and had brushed it off as she gave him a potion. But when he checked out in perfect health he had _insisted_ that she join him for dinner. That had been about nine and a half months ago. They'd been dating pretty seriously since then – or at least, she wanted to think it as serious. With him in Quidditch he was always traveling around the world playing – not that she didn't understand, it just wasn't what she could call a stable relationship.

Oliver was her first serious boyfriend since… well, she didn't really like to say his name. She had strangely put herself out there pretty quickly and dated two guys. The first one had a small problem of being a bit of an abusive drunk. After the second hit, Alyssa decided that she was tired of dealing with men and their trust issues and had no problem with abruptly ending that. Her second was Alex who she met once she got to Romania. They dated for a while, but Alyssa knew that they were just having fun and it'd never get serious. That, and the fact that he liked to bone anything that walked.

After those two experiences, Alyssa found she was pretty sick with the opposite sex, and doomed herself to be alone for the rest of time. But then Oliver showed up and here they are now.

"What's gotten into you?" Alyssa asked exasperatedly, "I figured Quidditch would wear you out."

He chuckled softy and rested his hands behind his head. She curled to his side instantly. "So how long will you be in England?" He asked curiously.

She shrugged slightly placing a kiss on his chest, trying purposely to miss the bruise, "A month… maybe two. I don't really know."

"That seems like a long time." Oliver replied wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"Yeah, well… you can always visit. I'm sure it's been a while since you've seen the Weasley's, and Harry and all those people." She turned and looked over her shoulder to look at the clock. "And speaking of – I should get ready." She moaned as more butterflies passed through her stomach and pressed her face into the pillow.

"Not wanting to go?" Oliver asked with a smile.

Alyssa rolled over and touched her feet to the floor. "Just nervous," She mumbled. She quickly put her underwear back on followed by her sundress. She went back into the bathroom to fix her hair and makeup before finding a pair of shoes to wear that she hadn't already packed.

"What is there to be nervous about?"

Alyssa paused while putting her shoes on. There really wasn't much to be nervous about. Well, other than the fact that she nearly died there, fell in love, sent her dad to Azkaban, and then left everyone and practically disappeared off the face of the earth. She shook her head and continued on with her shoes then stood up.

"I feel like I'm forgetting something." She said quietly and quirked her lips as she pondered. Oliver rolled his eyes and put his boxers on before getting out of the bed. He left the room saying he was getting a drink and in the meantime Alyssa eyed the room looking for something she might have looked over. She looked at the clock again and realized she really needed to get going soon. She'd be apparating but she still needed to find the place she was meeting Ginny at. Her eyes finally fell on the dresser where her old jewelry box was sitting. She hadn't packed any jewelry and that might've been a good idea for a wedding. She crossed the room and cracked the box opened and started sorting through the jewelry. Her rings were at the top as well as some earrings and she slid that part opened to the bottom of the box that was filled with necklaces. Most of the things she hadn't worn in years, some were even unrecognizable and rather suddenly, her heart stopped beating. At the very bottom of the box was that necklace, _his _necklace. Her fingers trembled as she picked it up and held it in the palm of her hand.

Alyssa didn't know what to expect. Surely, it wouldn't glow. She had no idea what he was doing or where he was… no one did. A sob threatened to escape her mouth and she dropped the necklace and placed a hand to her lips. Alyssa hadn't worn it since the day she left Hogwarts; she had been in too much pain to see that glow and couldn't bare it. She snapped the box shut and decided to pack the whole thing anyway. She shrunk it a bit and placed it safely in her bag.

She looked at the clock once more and nodded. "All right, Oliver, I'm leaving." She called as she left the room and went to the kitchen. He was sitting on the table drinking the rest of her butterbeer and hopped off as she entered the room. She dropped her heavy bag from her shoulder as he walked towards her. "I don't know how long you'll be here, so if I don't Floo I'll just write to you." She said.

"I'll miss you," Oliver said, he took another step forward and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "But have fun, and tell Ginny I said congratulations."

"I will; and I'll miss you, too." Alyssa replied, returning the hug. "Think about what I said, though. You really should visit."

"I'll think about it." Oliver said; she already knew he had Quidditch running through his mind. She rolled her eyes yet leaned in to give him a kiss. She retrieved her bag and hiked it up her shoulder before walking out the door and shutting it behind her.

It was bright and sunny in Surrey, but somewhat chilly so once Alyssa arrived she pulled a sweater out of her bag. She held a hand to shade her eyes and looked up to make sure she was in the right spot – she was. And looking at her watch she was happy to see she was right on time. She set off down the busy sidewalk and walked three blocks down the street before finding the pub that Ginny had planned on meeting her. It was called _St. Matthews Pub_; she stepped inside and her face relaxed from the lack of sunlight.

The pub was filled with people but no one could ever miss the red hair of a Weasley. Alyssa's mouth stretched into a huge smile; Ginny was sitting on the opposite side of the room, practically bouncing in her seat and it seemed that almost as soon as Alyssa looked her way, she caught Ginny's attention.

"Alyssa!" Ginny bolted out of her seat and nearly sprinted over, Alyssa laughed as Ginny almost sent her to the floor in a tight hug.

They pulled away but were still in each other's arms, "You look amazing!" Alyssa said as she looked her over. Ginny had definitely grown a few inches since the last time she saw her, and if it weren't for the heels Ginny would probably be taller than her. Her blood red hair looked exactly the same but was down to her elbows in soft waves.

"So do you! Oh, it's so good to see you!" They hugged each other again and both fell into a fit of giggles as they realized how much attention they were getting. "Cmon, let's sit down." Ginny grabbed her hand and pulled her to the table where Blaise was sitting.

"Blaise," Alyssa breathed as he stood up. He looked as handsome as ever, and his white teeth still gleamed perfectly as he smiled at her. They gave each other a kiss and had a tight hug.

"It's been too long, Alyssa." He said.

They all sat down and Ginny ordered a round of drinks which came by almost immediately.

"So how have all of you been? I feel like it's been a lifetime!" Alyssa said sipping her drink.

"Please," Ginny said shaking her head, "I should really be asking that question; you're the one who's been living Merlin knows where these past few years."

Alyssa had only been able to make it to England once to visit the Burrow during Christmas. At the time only the Weasley's were there so she was only able to really see Ron, Ginny and Hermione. Plus she finally got to meet the rest of her family. That was the year of what should have been Ginny's seventh year at Hogwarts. Ginny, much to the protest of her parents, didn't attend her last year at school and left to go fight in the war.

"I've just been passed back and forth between Romania and Scotland, really." Alyssa replied with a shrug, "I've only been back to America once. But seriously, you have to tell me _everything_…" she sent Blaise a wolfish grin, "Like getting _engaged_."

Ginny and Blaise shared an adorable look that said 'is it my turn to tell, or yours?' before Ginny shook her head and started talking. "Well, during that summer – soon after you left – we broke up; just because we were both going to the war and we really didn't want that sort of a distraction."

"But that didn't really work anyway," Blaise said, "I don't know about her, but all I could think about was whether she was safe and okay the whole time."

"So, obviously we got back together after everything settled down," Ginny continued sending him a glare. "And what was it, about six months ago when you proposed?"

Blaise smiled at her, "Just about, love."

"And we've really been doing a bunch of planning these past few months," She added waving her hand around. "The wedding planner is such a twit so I've done most of it on my own."

"That's so _cute_," Alyssa pondered aloud with a pout, "I wish I was there to see it."

Ginny scoffed and shook her head, "Ugh, no you don't; lots of tears and smudged makeup."

"Yet lots of shagging afterwards," Blaise said. Ginny reached across the table to smack him in the arm but Alyssa threw her head back and laughed. At least he hadn't changed too much.

"So everything's all set?" Alyssa asked curiously, "Besides the dresses I mean." In her invitation it had another note of the dates for when they'd be having dress fittings for the Bride-to-be and her bridesmaids; Alyssa was the Maid of Honor.

Ginny nodded her head, "Yup…" She shared a worried look with Blaise but he shook his head, and it went by unnoticed. "But anyway, tell me how things are going. And please update me on how things are going between you and a certain Quidditch player? I'm tired of hearing it through the papers."

"He says congrats for the wedding, by the way." Alyssa said as she took a sip of her drink, "And please don't tell me they're writing about us."

"Well, Oliver is one of the best Quidditch players at the moment." Ginny counted.

"The paper is probably making it sound more exciting than it actually is," Alyssa said rolling her eyes.

"Meaning?" Blaise asked curiously.

"Meaning," She said pointedly, "I hardly ever see him with his schedule, so it's been rather difficult."

"I doubt most girls would care considering he's Oliver Wood and all." Ginny said smiling.

Blaise chuckled softly, "But we all know Alyssa's not most girls."

"Exactly." Alyssa said, nodding enthusiastically.

Ginny rolled her eyes, "So what does that mean, anyway? You want to break it off or something?"

She shrugged, "I was thinking about it… but I really do like him so it's hard to decide." They fell into silence as she went over her thoughts before shrugging again and shaking her head. "But anyway - enough about that. What's the plan? I want to see everyone; I've been dying of anticipation."

Ginny and Blaise looked at each other again, smiling, before Ginny finished off her drink. "Well, we can go to the Ministry now – don't give me that look – Harry and Ron are there working and we're eating with them tonight anyway."

Alyssa was still pretty upset with the Ministry after said 'fiasco' and didn't like to involve herself in it too much. But at the mere sound of their names, Alyssa felt adrenaline pass through her veins and she tried hard not to bounce in her seat.

"Speaking of," Blaise cut in, "You want to tell her about the arrangements?"

"Oh, yes. You'll be staying with Harry."

Alyssa's eyes popped opened, "What?"

"Well first we considered booking you a room at a hotel," Ginny said flopping her hand around, "But then you'd have to travel back and forth to come out with us and all that, so Harry suggested you could just stay with him. He's got a rather big flat, guest room and all, so I think you'll be just fine."

The adrenaline only heightened at the fact that she'd be staying with Harry. It was _ridiculous_ how much she missed him. The one time she visited for Christmas, he hadn't been able to make it which was really upsetting. But now she was only moments from seeing him again, and she couldn't stand having to wait.

"Are you ready to go?" Blaise asked.

"Yes!" Alyssa shouted, jumping a bit too quickly out of her seat. Ginny rolled her eyes and shook her head sadly at her.

"You know, I'm still surprised you two didn't end up together."

Alyssa rolled her eyes and grabbed her bag, pulling it over her shoulder. "Could we _not_ touch upon that subject?" Ginny shrugged and laughed as Alyssa downed her drink, raised her hand and said, "Check, please!"


	2. Chapter 2

Alyssa never thought that such a gigantic place like the Ministry of Magic could ever change so much in a matter of three years. When she had previously been there – two weeks before she had left Hogwarts – it was a rather dark and gloomy place. Witches and Wizards were dressed in dark, heavy cloaks as they walked by speedily and kept to themselves. But now everyone seemed happy and ready to chat with anyone friendly looking that was passing by, and the Ministry itself seemed to have brightened up several notches. Alyssa couldn't tell if it was because of the end of the war, or an entirely new renovation that had been the cause to such a change.

"So who's running this gig now?" Alyssa asked Ginny as they walked through the main hall.

"Oh, who knows?" She said with a shrug, "It's become quite the democracy after our fair share of crap Ministers. Harry's been nearing the top, though, with what he's been doing for the Auror department. He's been training nearly every Auror that's in top shape at the moment, not to mention how incredibly he fought during the war. He might as well try to become the Minister himself." She ended with a grin.

"What about Ron? How's he been doing?" Alyssa continued curiously.

"Well, as you know, he's been active in the Auror department alongside Harry; no surprises there. But he's been extremely busy with Hermione so we haven't seen him that much lately."

She could see Blaise smirk in the corner of her eye, "Actually, we reckon she's pregnant."

Alyssa stopped dead in her tracks, Blaise and Ginny still continuing a few steps forward. "What?" She shouted, causing many heads to look towards her and then, after realizing who she was, doing a double take. Ginny glared at Blaise and shook her head.

"That's the family rumor that's going around, but obviously no one knows for sure; although mum's having quite the bloody fit."

"They really don't miss a beat, do they?" Alyssa pondered in astonishment. Hermione and Ron wasted no time after the school year ended and got married straight away surprising _everyone_. Of course they all knew they would always be head over heels for each other, but no one thought they'd just straight up get hitched at the age of eighteen. It was a very quick and quiet wedding, considering it was right before leaving for the fight; so it merely included the family and extremely close family friends.

"C'mon, let's get this elevator." Blaise said, ushering them to the side. They stepped into the large elevator that was only occupied by three other people. A woman clad in dark purple robes, and two men in matching, expensive looking suits. Once the doors slid shut, it jolted upwards and everyone grabbed the railings on the side. Alyssa subconsciously began tapping her foot on the floor as anticipation took over her senses. Ginny and Blaise both observed her as she seemed perfectly oblivious to the annoyance she was creating.

"Ugh, how many levels do we have to go?" Alyssa said in a low tone, it was more to herself than anyone, and no one bothered answering anyway.

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Could you just chill? You'll get there."

"But I wanna get there _now_." Alyssa wined.

"You're like a little kid." Blaise mused, "'Are we there yet?'" He mocked with a smile.

The lift finally stopped at their floor, and the bell sounded as the doors slid back opened. The three Wizards already occupying the lift stayed in, while Ginny, Blaise and Alyssa headed out. Alyssa stayed close to Ginny's side as they walked speedily through the unfamiliar surroundings. Their shoes clicked on the tiled floor and she looked around curiously as they traveled down the aisle. The walls were wooden and had several portraits of Witches and Wizards decorating them. It was a wide area, and back near the elevator was the main desk for the Auror department. The floor was mostly covered with multiple desks but there were offices as well, where people were busily walking in and out of.

"Hullo, Ginny." A woman to their left said as they walked by; Ginny waved at her.

"Do you pop around here often?" Alyssa asked.

Ginny shrugged, "Every now and then; plus everyone knows that you're coming so they've been expecting you." Alyssa furrowed her brows and turned back around to see the woman still watching them, as well as other people on the floor.

"At this time of day," Ginny said, walking a few inches ahead of her, "Harry's probably in the gym training people. He likes to get a head start on things." She looked back at Alyssa and sent her a grin which only amplified Alyssa's anticipation.

They walked further down the aisle and made a quick right. This hallway was a short one, which only led to two thick, oak doors. Ginny didn't even bother knocking and pushed the doors opened and they all stepped inside. There were many people in the gym; all of them were training. The floor was padded, as were three quarters of the walls, the last section was a solid mirror that went from end to end. The walls were adorned with many different kinds of weapons including staffs and swords. On the farther side of the room were weight benches and pads and gloves were strung up on the wall. Alyssa looked through the busy room for that familiar face and that bright red hair, but it was difficult to see anything through the haze of thrashing bodies.

"Ah, there they are." Blaise said, pointing to the corner of the room.

Alyssa whipped her head to the side, her eyes widening slightly. Ron and Harry were both training alongside each other. Ron was dueling with another man and laughed as they deflected jinxes off one another. Harry, on the other hand, was practically wrestling the man he was with. It seemed he was talking him through some different moves. Harry put his hands up as the man threw punches at him. As he dove forward with one punch, Harry dodged it, placed his hand on his chest, hooked his leg around the back of his knee, and shoved the man to the ground.

"I always love watching this." Ginny said bouncing gleefully on her toes.

As Harry helped the man off the ground she could hear him say, "That's you're problem right there. You put too much weight forward; try bracing yourself with your knee." Harry demonstrated by jutting forward while stomping onto the ground and locking his knee into a bent position. "That way you still throw a swift hook but with all the support you need."

"Oy, Harry!" Ginny shouted suddenly. "Look who I've got!" Harry turned around surprised, not expecting to hear his name and his jaw dropped as Ginny pulled Alyssa forward by the arm and obnoxiously pointed at her. Before she knew it, Harry was charging at her full speed and she was lifted off the ground in a bone crushing hug. She squealed as the air was squeezed from her body, but she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck not even caring he was covered in sweat.

The other men in the gym all stopped what they were doing and started cheering Harry on.

"Oh, stuff it, you tossers." Ron snapped at them as he headed over as well. Harry set her back on the ground and ran his hand through his sloppy hair as a bright red color rose to his cheeks. Alyssa turned to Ron to give him a hug as well and he commented on how it'd been to long since her last visit at 'bloody' Christmas about two years ago.

"You both look so… _different_." Alyssa said bewildered. And in truth they did, it seemed their whole bodies had changed except for their faces.

"I hope you mean that in a good way," Harry said smiling.

Alyssa shook her head, "Of course in a good way!" Ron was the same height as he had been before but he had filled out a lot more. And Harry was an entirely new transformation. He had grown a few inches at least and in turn his shoulders were much broader, his chest much fuller. His black hair was still messy, and his green eyes were even more beautiful than she remembered. He also had a new thin scar on his jaw towards his neck.

"Did you just get here?" Ron asked, draping a towel over his shoulders.

"Yep, pretty much."

"And she demanded that she come here straight away." Ginny said patting her on the shoulder. They fell into a comfortable silence and Blaise, Ron and Ginny watched smiling as Harry and Alyssa didn't say anything but looked at one another while grinning from ear to ear.

"So," Blaise said trying to break their trances of each other, "Everyone's good for dinner tonight?"

"What?" Alyssa said, landing back on earth, "Oh, yea. Well obviously I'm just gonna follow you guys around. This is your home not mine."

"Just let me shower and we'll be out of here." Harry said nodding in agreement. "We'll go to my flat so you can drop your stuff off and get comfortable, yeah?" Alyssa nodded.

"Okay, I'll stop home, shower as well, and grab 'Mione. We'll be at your place later, Harry." Ron said. "See you, Alyssa." He said with a grin, and walked out of the gym.

"We'll just wait for you in your office," Blaise said. He looked back at Alyssa who looked reluctant to move, but once again, Ginny grabbed her hand and eventually pulled her away as she sent a last smile.

"So you say you don't want to touch the subject, but then you pull a stunt like that?" Ginny demanded Alyssa once they walked through the gym doors.

"Well, excuse me for wanting to see him." She looked longingly back at the doors, "I feel like if I don't turn back now I'll never see him again."

"You will – in fifteen minutes, actually!" Ginny said rolling her eyes.

"He looks so different." Alyssa said more to herself than anyone.

Blaise and Ginny shared a look and rolled their eyes again. "He's in shape, yes."

Alyssa ignored that bit, "He has his own office?"

"Well he is the head of the Auror department," Blaise said, "So yea, I'd imagine so." And just as the words left his mouth, they arrived at a door with the label Harry Potter: Head of Auror Department. It was Alyssa's turn to roll her eyes. They let themselves into the office; it was a rather plain area, save for the fact that his desk was an absolute mess. There were stacks of parchment, folders, and quills spread all over Harry's desk. He had a coat rack in the corner of the room where his cloak and tie were presently hanging, and there were two cushioned chairs in front of his desk. Blaise and Ginny sat down in those chairs, and Alyssa continued to walk around the desk to sit in Harry's own chair.

"So how's he been doing lately?" Alyssa asked curiously.

"He works a lot." Blaise said monotonously.

"Any love life?" She continued.

"He dates every now and then, you know him, though." Ginny said giving a shrug, "He doesn't like to settle down." Alyssa nodded her head slowly and looked at the contents of his desk. They were mostly just case files packed together, two issues of the _Daily Prophet_, and some other parchment she couldn't positively identify.

"He had this one girlfriend for like three months or something," Ginny began to say, "But he didn't like her very much. I could tell why though, she was _so_ bloody clingy and would complain if he had to work too much, then she kept asking him to _propose_ because she wanted kids and he had to say…" She trailed off as she realized Alyssa wasn't paying any attention at all. In fact, she seemed very intent on one of the _Prophet_ issues that had been sitting on Harry's desk. Ginny lifted her chin only to read the familiar headline '_Dead or Alive_?' It had been the only article every person in the Wizarding world read the day it printed.

"Oh," Ginny said uneasily. "It's…"

"Draco," Alyssa said quietly looking at the paper. It was the front cover story that printed two months after Draco's disappearance; it was when he was presumed to be dead.

Ginny looked panic stricken and turned her head towards Blaise asking for help. He didn't really know what to say either so he said the first thing that popped into his head. "Um, y'know… Harry's been doing everything in his power to find him. But -"

"The odds aren't that high," Alyssa said, "I know." Her stomach clenched uncomfortably as she remembered the first day she found out that Draco had gone missing. It was towards the end of the war so everyone could only have high hopes. He had been in the front line with Harry – who was the last person to have seen him. Apparently, he had gotten injured badly and Harry told him to hold back with a few of the others. When the rest of the team doubled back, he was gone. No body was found, so obviously a search went out; but there was no sign or trace of him.

The three of them fell into an uncomfortable silence as Alyssa continued to read the article. She looked up momentarily to find the pairs eyes trained on her expressing their concern.

"What?"

Blaise shrugged slightly, "It's just – after what happened between you two it's weird to see you freely reading that article." He explained, "I even have trouble reading it."

Alyssa dropped the issue of the paper and looked up again towards Blaise. She opened her mouth to say something but as she did, they could hear Harry's voice passing through the hall and to the front of his office. He shouted 'Have a good night,' to whoever he was talking to before opening the door. He was dressed in new clothes; a pair of jeans and a grey sweater, and hair still looked slightly wet.

"Ready to go?" He asked Alyssa, smiling brightly.

"Definitely." Alyssa said enthusiastically. She stood up from his chair and pushed it in and grabbed her sweater to put it back on. He walked to his coat rack and put his cloak on as Ginny and Blaise stood up as well.

"We'll do side-along since you don't know where we're going." Harry said. "I live in the Muggle part of town so we'll get to a safe spot a bit down the street from my place."

The four of them left the office to go to an apparition spot in the building. Once they got there, Ginny and Blaise left first, and then Harry put his arm around Alyssa's waist and they disappeared with a _pop_. A few seconds later they all arrived in an empty alley. The sun was still shining but the skies were becoming filled with clouds and Alyssa had a small feeling it would start raining soon.

"C'mon." Harry said, jutting his head towards the street. He held Alyssa's hand and led her to the sidewalk, Blaise and Ginny following closely behind. "My house is just a block down." He added.

Alyssa looked around the neighborhood, "This is really nice, Harry." She said. All of the houses looked bright and cheery, most of which were two stories high. Picket fences lined the divider between the front yards and the sidewalk. The street was relatively busy; it was still the afternoon so most people were outside. Children were playing games with their friends on their lawns while their parents watched them. Harry, Alyssa, Blaise and Ginny didn't stick out at all as they passed the busy houses. Towards the end of the block, the street widened into a court and there were four hidden driveways that were practically invisible because of the tall trees and bushes that towered over them. The only thing pointing out that there was houses were the mailboxes.

"That's mine right there," Harry said, pointing to the farthest driveway. They crossed the court and walked down the long, dirt driveway and as they reached the clearing of the trees they finally got a wide view of Harry's home. When Alyssa was told she'd be staying in Harry's _flat_ she thought it'd be more like an apartment… not a large, gorgeous, two-story white house. The driveway ended in front of a garage which – very surprisingly – had a black car sitting in front of it. Alyssa knew how to drive but her knowledge in cars was rather low considering she'd been apparating everywhere.

Harry noticed her curious look and said, "The neighbors come around a lot to say hi so I thought it'd look more normal if I had a car."

Alyssa nodded as she continued to observe the house. From the driveway there was a stone pathway that led to the white steps in front of the front door of the house. There was a small patio in the front that was adorned with two chairs and a bench; and the overhead of the patio had lights dangling above to light up the entire area. Harry took out his keys and unlocked the door and they all walked inside. The entrance room was small; there was a closet to their left which they eventually hung up their cloaks in. Stairs were to their immediate right which would obviously take them to the second floor where the guest room, office and extra bathroom was. More towards the back of the house was the kitchen, dining room and living room. Harry seemed to like the Muggle lifestyle; in his living room was a big screen television and the kitchen necessities like the oven, stove and microwave were all electric – he even had a coffee maker.

"Living the Muggle life, eh?" Alyssa said looking around the place.

"It's not so bad," Harry said rubbing the back of his head, "I kind of missed the TV from the Dursley's." he added with a laugh.

"I thought Muggle stuff was supposed to go haywire with magic."

He shrugged nonchalantly, "There's not much magic around here, really. Save for the wards around the property and the small spell here and there,"

"Well, I must say, Harry," Alyssa said giving her nod of approval, "This is an awesome house."

"We expected nothing less." Blaise said sarcastically. He loudly clapped his hands together, "Now when's dinner?"

Harry laughed and walked towards Alyssa, "Here, lemme take that – I'll show you you're room." He grabbed her duffel bag off of her shoulder and walked back towards the stairs where she followed suit.

"Oy!" Blaise shouted seriously after them, "I wasn't joking!" As they reached the top of the staircase they could hear Ginny snapping at him to stuff it. They took a right at the stairs and there was a short hallway before they reached a door. Harry opened it and flicked on the light, stepping out of the way so Alyssa could come in.

"Sweet; I like." She said smiling. A queen sized bed was opposite the door and against the wall adjacent to them was a full length mirror and an empty closet was on the left. The room was decorated in regular colors so there wasn't much of a preference with a male or female. The floors were wooden and the walls were painted a tan color. The bed was also wooden with white pillows and a thick, burgundy comforter. A window was on the wall next to the bed and the fading sunlight was peeking through the curtains.

"Yeah, I figured I should get one. People randomly spend the night here every now and then." He replied.

"Oh, really?" Alyssa asked cocking a brow.

Harry walked over to the closet and set the bag down saying "You can unpack whenever if you -" but was momentarily cut off when Alyssa came up from behind and wrapped her arms around him. "What's going on?" He asked warily.

"Nothing," She said sighing. "I just _really_ missed you."

"Oh," He said lightly, "Well then let me turn around so I can hug you righteously." She loosened her grip and he turned in her arms to wrap his own around her shoulders in a tight embrace. "I missed you, too." He said. They stayed that way for who knew how long before –

"OY!" Blaise shouted again from downstairs causing Harry and Alyssa to break apart with a start, "I'm bloody hungry! What're you doin', havin' a shag?"

Harry rolled his eyes and shouted back, "Untwist those knickers, you tosser!" He looked at Alyssa apologetically and muttered "Sorry about that," before hurrying out of the room and going back downstairs.

Alyssa shrugged her shoulders and moved to her bag. She didn't know how long it would be till they were going out but she might as well start unpacking. The first thing she grabbed was the picture of her, Brad and Jason and put it on the nightstand. Then she opened the closet doors; there was lots of hanging space with hangers, shelves and drawers. The space was completely empty for her to fill. She opened her duffel bag and took out the shrunken suitcase, quickly casting the charm to make it its normal size. She pulled out the shoes first, placing each pair on the shelves, and then moved to hang up her shirts and dresses. After that she took out the jewelry box and placed it on her nightstand as well.

Suddenly there was a soft knock on the door and a familiar voice said, "Well if it isn't Alyssa Bennington in the flesh."

Alyssa whipped around and shouted, "Hermione!"

Hermione laughed and smiled, and barely made it a step into the bedroom before Alyssa dashed over and greeted her with a strong hug. "God, it's so overwhelming to see everyone in one day." Alyssa commented laughing. They pulled apart and she added, "You look great."

Hermione's bushy hair softened out _a lot _over the past three years, it seemed. It fell in thick curls and waves down to her elbows. She was dressed casually for dinner; jeans and a blue sweater.

"Thanks," She said smiling, "You do too. You seem… taller?" She questioned cocking an eyebrow.

"Once inch exactly." Alyssa replied before laughing. "Did you and Ron just get here?"

"Yup," Hermione said nodding, "He was having a right fit because I was apparently taking too long to get ready." She said shaking her head.

"Men and their food," Alyssa said in agreement. She walked back over to her suitcase and started pulling out the multiple pairs of jeans she brought. Hermione, meanwhile, made herself comfortable on the edge of Alyssa's bed.

"So how has it been in Romania?" She asked curiously.

Alyssa shrugged her shoulders slightly, "It's been pretty good. I'm glad to have a break from all that dragon work, though. I'm still recovering from some bruises." She paused to shove the jeans in the closet. "But yea, it's been nice. I've met some really interesting people, and I think the job suits me. It's a great area to work on my handy-dandy magic skills." She said flexing her fingers.

Hermione laughed softly, "Yes, I'd imagine so." She looked Alyssa up and down as she continued unpacking, "You might want to change for dinner, it's getting a bit nippy outside."

"Oh, really?" She replied absentmindedly. "Hey, where are we even going, anyway?"

"I don't even know," Hermione said with a shrug, "The men are discussing it, of course."

"Of course."

"All right, kids, let's dash." Blaise said suddenly appearing in the doorway. "We've found a place to eat so get your kit on and we're leavin'." He said enthusiastically.

Alyssa quickly pulled a random set of clothes she had just hung up and rolled her eyes. "Just give me a second, will you?"

"Shake it!"

She rolled her eyes again and moved around him to get to the bathroom. She was amazed by how much he _hadn't_ changed. That, and the fact that he'd become such good mates with Harry over the period of time she was gone. If someone had told her while she was still at school that that was going to happen, she would've laughed outright in their face. But it was nice to see, and relieving. Alyssa quickly changed into black dress pants and a red sweater and slipped her boots on. She would've made even more adjustments with her appearance but Blaise began knocking impatiently on the bathroom door rambling about how he was nearing death because of the lack of food.

"I'm ready, I'm ready. We can go," Alyssa said exasperatedly. The three of them went back downstairs to find Ron, Harry and Ginny sitting around the kitchen table having what looked to be a serious discussion. At the sight of Alyssa, though, they stopped the conversation and looked up with bright smiles plastered onto their faces.

"Ready to eat?" Harry asked excitedly.

"Yes, but could someone please tell me where we're going?"

"Nothing fancy," Ron answered. "Just where we can relax and eat good food."

"And drink." Ginny added; Ron scoffed at her.

"That, too." He said. The six of them exited the house and walked back down the block to the alleyway where the safe spot to apparate was located. The arrival point was in a small, lit up town and given the size, was surprisingly busy. The sky turned cloudy and it was relatively colder than it had been earlier so they all walked briskly down the sidewalk, eventually making it to a cozy looking restaurant. They stepped inside and were immediately enveloped in heat; the place was pretty packed but they were all seated after a ten minute wait. The waitress took them to the back of the restaurant; after stepping down three steps from the entryway, they took a left into a more secluded area and were seated at a large, round table.

Right off the bat they ordered two bottles of wine, ready to get a jump start on the evening.

"I propose a toast," Hermione said raising her glass, "To Alyssa – it's so great to have you back; really, it was too long to have gone without you." She tipped her glass at Alyssa, "And to Ginny – who will soon be the future Mrs. Zabini." Ginny beamed in her seat as she and Blaise shared a smile.

"Cheers!"

After taking their first sip of wine, they opened their menus and sat in silence while they went over what they wanted to order.

"Of course we had to go to a heavy-weight restaurant," Ginny mumbled to Blaise, "Couldn't go to a place that won't throw on extra pounds that I can't afford. I have a bloody wedding!"

"I'm sure you have nothing to worry about," Alyssa said with her eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"Get used to it," Blaise said monotonously, "She's been like this for ages now, I've sort of developed and immunity to it now," He said with a wolfish grin.

"Well you're not the one who has to fit into a wedding dress are you?" Ginny asked with a glare.

Blaise rolled his eyes, "I hope not, love."

"When are the dress fittings again?" Alyssa asked sipping from her glass of wine.

Ginny looked astonished at her, as if Alyssa should've had every detail of the schedule memorized by now. "In four days."

"Did you pick out your dress yet?"

"I've narrowed it down to three, actually."

"This is so exciting!" Hermione said bouncing in her seat, "All this planning – Ron and I didn't get to do all that because ours was just short and simple."

"Someone fill my glass please?" Ron asked shaking his glass in midair. Harry, who was sitting next to him, reached for the bottle and poured wine into Ron's glass, leaving him with a satisfied smile on his face.

"So, Alyssa, have you really been back to America since school?" Hermione asked curiously. Alyssa hadn't been able to keep close touch with anyone, what with most of them going off to fight in the war, so she wasn't caught up with what had happened to them or vice versa.

"I went back once for a few months. My mom had the sudden urge to want to bond with me."

"Well, I'd imagine so, after you were nearly killed and everything." Blaise said matter-of-factly.

They all chuckled around the table as Alyssa continued, "She actually got time off from work and everything so after I got settled with Brad I was shipped back off to America for a little bit."

"How is Brad, by the way?" Ginny asked. "I haven't really seen him at all since school."

"He's doing really well, actually. He and Elizabeth have this ridiculous blossoming romance," She said dramatically. "Who knew?"

"Yeah, well, from what you tell me she seems all right." Ginny said.

Alyssa nodded and gave a slight shrug, "She'll do." She said sarcastically. "Oh and he's definitely coming to the wedding." She added. There was a murmur of surprise and more anticipation was added to the event. A waitress came around and they all ordered food.

"What shall we do after this, mates?" Harry asked. No one said anything and slowly looked down at Harry, one by one. "My place it is, then." He concluded rolling his eyes and raising his glass to his lips.

When they got back to Harry's, Ginny let herself in immediately and dashed to the fridge to get out more drinks.

"Someone crank up the fireplace," Blaise said, "It's bloody freezing outside."

"I'm on it," Hermione replied, trailing into the living room.

"I'm gonna change into pajamas, I'll be right back." Alyssa said. She crept up the stairs and into her room and went through her suitcase until she pulled out a pair. She put on a nice, warm pair of fleece pajama pants and put a sweatshirt on top. She looked up and nearly screamed at the top of her lungs, but instead shouted "Oh my God!" for there was a large brown owl perched on the outside of the bedroom window.

"Everything all right up there?" Harry shouted from downstairs.

"Yea, sorry about that!" She shouted back holding a calming hand to her chest. After further inspection she realized that the owl was Oliver's, and there was a small piece of parchment tied to its leg. She opened the window murmuring to the owl, "You scared the _crap_ out of me, bird."

She pulled the parchment off its leg and read the contents:

_Alyssa,_

_How are things in England? I hope they're well and once again send my congrats to the future newlyweds. I was writing you because I had taken your proposal to coming to England rather seriously. But to no surprise the Quidditch season has been acting up again; me and the other captain saw that the future game schedule is going to be twice as busy as the last one, so practices need to bulk up as well. So, much apologies, but I won't be able to make it over there. I'll be extremely busy over the next few months and I'm not sure when I'll be able to see you next, but a trip to England seems to be a near impossibility._

_Hope you're having fun, I'll write again soon,_

_Oliver_

Alyssa sighed and rolled her eyes, thinking how ironic it was that she was just thinking about ending things with him. As much as she did like him, she wasn't sure how much longer she could withstand these major gap periods in between being with Oliver; and she was definitely sure she wasn't going to wait to find out.

"One second," She muttered to the owl who was busy cleaning its feathers. She went back to her bag and grabbed a quill to write a quick reply. She turned over the parchment and wrote:

_I'm not going to lie when I say I'm pretty disappointed you can't make it over. I was looking forward to that possibility, but alas time goes on. I was going to wait to see you to talk about this, but as it seems I won't be seeing you for a few months I guess I'll just write it out – as lame as that may be. I was thinking maybe we should take some time apart… we hardly see each other as it is, and now it seems that things have only been further complicated. It's been really fun, and I really like you, but what kind of relationship could we have if neither of us are there for it? _

"Alyssa, hurry up!" Blaise shouted impatiently.

"I'm coming!"

_Anyway, I know you're really busy right now so I'll understand if you don't write me for a little bit. But good luck with Quidditch; everything is fine here and I told Ginny and Blaise you said congratulations._

_Alyssa_

She tied the parchment back to the owl's leg and it took off without a moment's hesitation. She sighed looking out the window and shut it back tight as a gust of wind passed through. She went back downstairs saying, "All right, all right, who's got the booze?"

An hour later, things finally quieted down. Ginny and Blaise had fallen into a dead sleep right in front of the blazing fire while Hermione and Ron were falling asleep on the couch watching an old movie that was on TV. Harry and Alyssa, on the other hand, were in the kitchen washing dishes and clearing the place up.

"So how was the first day back?" Harry asked.

Alyssa put the towel aside as she grabbed another plate from the sink. "It's been a bit overwhelming, actually. Y'know; seeing everyone at once. But it's so great to be back. The whole time I was in Romania I knew I had to come back here. This is the only place where I've lived that I actually _wanted_ to come back to."

"Really?" Harry asked curiously as she handed a plate to him, "Not even America?"

"Not even America." She replied shaking her head. "I'm getting a drink, you want one?"

"Yea, sure." Alyssa put down the towel again to grab two bottles of beer out of the fridge. She popped them both opened and handed one to Harry while raising the other to her lips. She looked over the room and where Hermione and Ron were slowly fading away. "So rumor has it that she's pregnant," she said softly, jutting at the pair with her bottle. "Things certainly do change."

"It's strange, isn't it?" Harry said agreeing. "You figured she'd be the last person to get hitched straight out of school; she surprised us all, to say the least."

"Yeah, I thought Blaise and Ginny would be the ones to do that." Alyssa said smiling. She hopped up on the table and swung her legs back and forth thinking of how much puppy love went on between Ginny and Blaise back at school.

Harry chuckled softly, leaning back on the table. "What?" She asked. Harry shook his head. "Nothing; I was just remembering how she used to have a crush on me. That seems ages away."

Alyssa nearly choked on her drink, "Wait – what? Ginny had a crush on you? _When_?"

"She didn't tell you?" He laughed again, "It was way back in the earlier years that I was at Hogwarts."

"That's hysterical." Alyssa said seriously, and then she burst out laughing.

"What's so funny about that?" Harry asked trying to look offended.

She tried sobering up yet was failing miserably, "Oh – nothing. No, it's not funny." But she couldn't stop laughing. "It's just – I'm trying to think of that; could you imagine? Oh, dear." She kept saying mostly to herself. Harry rolled his eyes as he put the last dish away as she started to quiet down. He looked over at her to see she was wiping a tear from her eye and suddenly lurched forward grabbing her knee and tickling her.

Alyssa squealed loudly, and her eyes flew opened surprised at what he'd done. "Harry, no!" He reached with his other hand and began tickling her knees and she laughed and screamed loudly, "Stop, stop! I wasn't making fun, I promise!" She hopped off the table in an effort to get away from him, but her first step was right into a soapy puddle and she slipped and landed hard on her bum. "OW!"

This time it was Harry's turn to laugh, and he bent over holding his side as he roared with laughter.

"Wass goin' on?" Ron asked tiredly from the couch. "What happened…. S'everythin' all right?"

"_Shh_!" Harry put his index finger to his lips as she rolled over and rubbed her soapy bottom while moaning, though he was still having trouble containing himself. "C'mon, let's go outside." He mumbled helping her up with a smile.

"I was just thinking it'd be weird 'cause you're like brother and sister!" She hissed, still rubbing her bum. Harry chuckled while he grabbed their drinks and led her to the front porch. Alyssa pulled her sweatshirt tightly around her as they were greeted with the cool air. They perched themselves against the front banister, their drinks dangling from their hands.

"It's really nice that you're back." Harry said softly as they looked up at the sky. "It was weird finishing the year without you."

Alyssa nodded and said, "I wish I had never left." Ever since that last day she wondered if she truly had done all she could to stay in England after the school year. What could the Ministry truly have done if she hadn't complied with them? Sent her off to Azkaban? She had absolutely every reason to stay… so why didn't she?

"How's Romania, anyway?" He asked curiously sipping his beer.

"It's pretty good," She answered unenthusiastically. "It's tiring stuff, though, being beaten up by dragons every day. But I've been living with my brother which is really cool; and I've met some pretty cool people."

"Like Oliver Wood?" Harry asked with a smirk.

"Like Oliver Wood." She answered, she chuckled softly and added, "Man, I should really make a 'frequently asked questions' thing. That seems to be the topic of the day."

She looked over at Harry and saw as his smile slowly faded away. "Y'know… we were all really surprised when we found out you were dating again. We kind of thought… with what had happened that you'd be all detached or something."

Alyssa shrugged, for she had surprised herself even. "You know me, I'm not one to sit around and mope. It was hard to recover from though; every time I thought about it I felt like I was being socked in the stomach. And I didn't want to feel that way forever…" She paused taking another sip from her beer, "Besides, it's not that hard meeting people in my line of work."

"Oh, yeah? Who else were you dating?" Harry asked curiously.

"This other guy I work with, Alex. He's an odd one, though. And you don't even wanna know about the other."

"Then why'd I ask?" Harry said calmly.

Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Smart-ass," She muttered with a glare. "Fine, but you asked." She looked at him to see if he had any other protests but he said nothing so she continued. "There was this other guy who I went on a few dates with, right? And at the same time I was hanging out with Alex a lot 'cause I was just getting to know him. So this guy – who remains nameless – starts having real trust issues with me, even though he has no claim over me or anything, so we start fighting a lot. Well, he gets really wasted one night and he's the blubbering idiot kind of drunk so I took him home. We get there and suddenly he just snaps. He starts accusing me of all this crap and starts yelling at me so I'm ready to leave." She paused again making sure he was all right to continue and still, he said nothing.

"So I head for the door and he grabs me and I turned around and told him to get his filthy hands off of me." She knew from Harry's look that they were sharing the same thought – bad move. "I saw it happening before he even raised his fist, and I just hit the floor. I was so shocked I didn't even think of defending myself and he did it another time. The only thing was it wasn't bad as the first, so I regained my composure, sent him flying, and split faster than you can say 'apparate'." Alyssa shook her head to herself remembering perfectly clear how it happened. "But what really put the icing on the cake was that I was still getting over what had happened from school and then I met that prick." She rolled her eyes and downed the rest of her beer.

"I'm slightly sorry I asked." Harry said looking sadly at her. "I don't really know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," Alyssa said with a shrug. "But anyway, enough of that topic."

"I agree."

They stood in silence for a few moments staring up at the sky. It was dead silent outside. Earlier, kids were still playing in their yards and could be heard through the tress; but now it was a still, peaceful silence.

"Harry?"

"Yea?"

"What was he like… after I left, I mean." It'd been the one thing she was dying to ask.

Harry sighed heavily and dropped his head from the sky. "At first, it was pretty bad. And we were worried about him. He kept to himself for a bit and only came out his room to eat and study. The only person who he really talked to was Blaise." Alyssa winced as he spoke; she was responsible for that. "It was a sudden blow to him and he didn't take it too well. But he did get better."

Alyssa sighed in relief.

"I think what happened was that he realized he was capable of being truly happy. You taught him how to do that, y'know." He told her. "You really got to him, more than you know. He realized he could reach out to people without being vulnerable, and what's more, he learned he could be happy _on his own_, without needing to depend on someone."

Harry looked over to her and rubbed her arm comfortingly. She looked him directly in the eye and asked, "What about everyone else? How were they?" What she really meant was how had _he_ been after she left. She was afraid to ask about him specifically, fearing that maybe she hadn't done that much for him; but he got the message and she was extremely relieved to hear his answer.

Without breaking eye contact he said, "They were really sad. You may not know this but you're really easy to talk to and relate to more than anyone else. And losing that connection was about too hard for them to endure."

He cracked a smile and turned his head to look back up at the sky and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Alyssa held onto him as well, as if she was leaving again tomorrow.

"Were you upset that I didn't say it back?" Harry asked suddenly. She was confused at first but then realized what he meant.

"Slightly… but I knew you felt the same way." She replied.

"Good." He said, and then added, "I still do."

"Me, too."

He clenched her shoulder a bit before saying, "Let's get inside, it's getting cold out." Alyssa agreed for her teeth were even starting to chatter and they headed back inside. They decided to watch a movie but since everyone had fallen asleep in the living room they went to his room instead. Harry changed into his pajamas and they snuggled under the warm covers with the television on; Alyssa fell asleep that night happier than she'd been in years.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**: Sorry it took forever to get this up! Well at least it felt like forever; my own computer broke down so i had to start over again from scratch on a different one that i'm barely able to use. I'll try as hard as i can to get the next one up quickly. Thanks for the reviews so far! I'm absolutely lovin' the feedback and once again - enjoy!

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"Hurry up! We're gonna be late!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Alyssa dashed back and forth passing the top of the stairs, going between her bedroom and the bathroom.

"I made this appointment ahead of time for a _reason_!" Ginny shouted at the bottom of the stairs, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Calm down! Just give me ten seconds," She ran across the short area once again and Ginny could see the pencil of eyeliner clenched in Alyssa's hand.

"_I'm_ the one trying on a bloody wedding dress! _You_ don't have to look pretty!"

Alyssa quickly grabbed her jacket from her room and threw it on before running down the stairs. She zipped it up and clapped her hands together, "See? Quick as light,"

"Yeah, whatever." Ginny practically growled, "Let's move!" She shouted into the kitchen. Hermione and Luna who had just finished breakfast walked into the main room with their jackets already zipped and ready to go.

"Ginny, we really do have time," Hermione said looking at her watch, but the glare Ginny sent her way was enough to keep her mouth closed. The four of them left Harry's house and walked down the street to the safe apparition spot, and left for Diagon Alley. The weather was relatively cloudier than it had been in the past few days, and the four girls huddled close as they walked down the crowded sidewalks. Alyssa couldn't keep up with where they were headed; the streets and stores were unfamiliar to her and all she could see were the curious stares that were aimed in her direction, recognizing her face.

They eventually arrived at a small dress shop. Ginny had explained earlier how the wedding planner was meeting them there, already holding the top three of Ginny's dresses, and other possibilities for the Maids. It had been planned that the majority of the wedding would be coordinated in white and chocolate brown; so the girls would be wearing an assortment of chocolate brown dresses.

Blaise, Harry, Ron, and Blaise's cousin were all arriving later to meet up with them and try on tuxedos for the wedding; nothing had really been established with what they'd be wearing, unsurprisingly.

Ginny knocked on the door before entering, and a bell above their heads rang as they stepped through the doorway. The place looked bigger on the inside than it did outside. In the main room was the front desk and racks of dresses and accessories. But they could see that there was a back room that must've been where people tried everything on.

"Darling, you've arrived!" A woman shouted coming out of nowhere. She was wearing a skin-tight, navy blue blazer with a matching skirt and had her hair pinned up in a bun on the top of her head. She pranced forward in her tall heels and grabbed Ginny, air-kissing both of her cheeks; she already had a champagne glass in one hand.

"Everyone, you all know Anya." Ginny said as she was let go. "But Anya, this is my Maid of Honor, Alyssa Bennington."

Anya took Alyssa's hand and shook it firmly, "Pleasure to finally meet you; I've heard loads about you." Alyssa didn't know what to say back so just grinned brightly and returned the shake.

"Now, Rose is wandering somewhere upstairs so we've got the place to ourselves, yeah?" Anya smiled at them and walked to the back room while beckoning them to follow.

"Who's Rose?" Alyssa whispered to Hermione.

"Oh – she's just the shop owner."

"Right." Alyssa nodded as they entered the back room. It was a large opened space with two platforms in the center of the room facing one mirror the size of the wall on the farther end. On either side of the room were different changing booths, some were small but there were two big ones on each side in case you would be changing into a big outfit. Alyssa could only see two different racks; one was for Ginny where she had three dresses held in long cases. The other rack clearly held the rest of the dresses for they weren't wrapped up and every single dress was the rich, chocolate color.

"You three get comfortable while I dress the bride." Anya said brushing them to the long couch that was against the wall. She conjured three more glasses and filled them with champagne before grabbing the first dress and disappearing into the large dressing booth.

"So do we just sit here and watch, then?" Alyssa asked taking a sip of champagne.

"Yes, which may take a while, so get comfortable." Hermione droned slouching into her seat.

Alyssa did so, and sighed leaning back and crossing her legs. About ten minutes passed until Ginny said, "I'm coming out!" and walked out of the booth followed closely by Anya. Alyssa's eyebrows shot up into her hairline as she observed the first dress. It was extremely poofy, and that was about the only thing she could take in from it.

"Well?" Ginny asked expectantly.

"Ginny, I can't even see you through all that." Alyssa said waving her hand around.

Ginny's shoulders slumped slightly and she sighed, "You don't like it?"

"Well… I guess, if it was for your Sweet Sixteen."

"What?"

"It's a Muggle thing." Luna answered softly.

"All I'm sayin' is – this is your wedding. You want to wear something classy not something a teenager would pick out." Alyssa pointed out.

"Technically I am a teenager." Ginny answered.

Alyssa quirked her lips having forgotten that small piece of information. "By one year – small technicality." Ginny paused as she fingered the material of the dress, "But do you see what I'm saying?"

She spun around to look at her reflection in the mirror and after giving it a moment of thought, she decided "Yes – I see what you're saying. C'mon, Anya." Anya grabbed the next dress and they went back into the booth.

Forty five minutes later Ginny was trying on the last dress. The second one was a huge improvement from the first. It wasn't as poofy and had a sophisticated beaded bodice; it was a very vintage look. So they were at the third, the only possible competitor and the three girls waited in anticipation as they looked around the shop.

Alyssa had started to sort through all the brown dresses during the waiting time. They had every material, every style that she could've possibly thought of; halter dresses, strapless, thin straps, short, long, tight, loose, satin, velvet and silk. Alyssa, early on, had decided to wear a thick-strapped, knee-length dress. She found a really pretty dress that was styled just the way she wanted, and she figured it'd be the easiest to coordinate certain accessories to.

Hermione and Luna, on the other hand, were both in the main entranceway looking at the jewelry selection that they had.

"I'm ready!" Ginny called, and everyone dashed back to stand in front of the couch and waited with alert attention.

They all knew that it was the one right away, and Ginny knew just by the looks of their faces that it was the one, too. She didn't even wait for a reply before spinning around and stood on one of the platforms facing the mirror. Alyssa, Hermione, Luna and Anya all gathered around her, their faces expressing complete adoration. The dress was long, slender and satin, with thin sparkling straps and a two-foot train. The whole dress was champagne colored, softening out the pale tone to her skin and the blood red of her hair. The bodice gracefully hugged every curve of her upper body, and small diamonds were spread around the entirety of the dress causing it to sparkle and glow in the light.

"This is it." Ginny breathed, looking at her reflection.

"That is _definitely_ it." Alyssa and the other girls agreed nodding their heads.

"Now quickly," Ginny said stepping back off the platform. "I need to get this thing off and zipped up before Blaise arrives. They should be here any minute." She gathered the skirt in her hands so she'd have room to speedily make it back into the booth.

"But what about the alterations?" Anya asked rushing after her.

"They can wait," Ginny muttered, "I'll stop by over the weekend; and besides – there's not much left to do but shorten the front so I can walk properly."

"She's got this down pat, hasn't she?" Alyssa asked. Hermione nodded mutely as the bell from the front door rang.

"That must be them," Luna whispered, "I'll distract them – you two – look busy." Hermione and Alyssa looked blankly at each other as Luna grabbed the bottle of champagne and left the room; the men's voices could be heard.

"What's going on?" Harry asked suddenly walking into the dressing room. "Luna hardly ever drinks alcohol and she's in there forcing champagne on us."

They all soon found themselves changing in and out of different dresses and tuxedos. The first dress that Alyssa had originally wanted to wear didn't fit at all. It was proportioned horribly; making her chest look tiny and her butt look humungous. Hermione chose a simple strapless dress that nearly touched the floor, and Luna was now trying on one for herself.

"Why don't you try this one?" Ginny asked, fishing through the assortment of dresses. She had already dressed back into her regular clothes and her gown was zipped up and safely packed away.

"Ow!" Ron shouted on the other side of the room as he was pricked by a needle; he had by far been complaining the most.

Ginny handed Alyssa another chocolate brown dress; this one was a halter top. "Might as well." Alyssa said shrugging. She took it out of Ginny's hands and walked into one of the booths. She quickly shed off the sweats that she had put on that morning and took it off the hanger. As she stepped one foot into the dress she could hear Ginny, Blaise and Rupert – Blaise's cousin who she had just met – talking near the door.

"So who's going to be the Best Man now?" Rupert asked.

Blaise sighed heavily, "I'm not having a _new_ Best Man; we'll be in the same order we were supposed to be in – just… minus one."

"Have you told her yet?" Ginny asked.

"Me?" Blaise obviously scoffed, "I thought _you_ were going to tell her."

"Well he was supposed to be _your_ Best Man!"

"Oh – _wow_…" Alyssa said loudly, suddenly realizing what they were talking about. She hadn't even thought of it – it had completely slipped her mind; Draco was obviously supposed to be Blaise's Best Man. And now that he was missing they were one down in the wedding party.

"Is everything all right in there?" Ginny asked.

"Yea – I'm fine, I'm fine." Alyssa answered putting on the rest of her dress. How _stupid_ could she have been? How could she _not_ have realized that straight away? "Just dropping some eaves," Alyssa added shaking her head and tying the straps around her neck. She pushed open the booth and stepped out only to meet the wary looks of nearly everyone she was with.

"What?"

"Sorry we forgot to mention it to you." Ginny said, her eyes dropping to the floor.

"It's all right," Alyssa said shaking her head again, "I should've figured it out."

"Who wants more champagne?" Anya shouted suddenly breaking the awkward silence as she back into the room with a fresh bottle.

Alyssa stepped onto the platform in front of the mirror to check out the dress. The halter straps made her cleavage look awesome, she thought, and that alone was enough to convince her to get it. It was relatively tight, clinging to her hips and only loosened around the hem that reached her knees.

"Ginny, help me adjust these straps." Ginny came over and undid the knot of the straps, "I want to see the range of cleavage I can get." She said with a laugh. Ginny smiled and pulled them as far up as she could and tied a bow – but they weren't strong enough to hold that much pressure and came undone almost immediately.

"Jeez!" Alyssa shouted slapping her hands to her chest and catching the top of the dress. "You nearly had me flash the whole room!" She looked over at Harry who was trying to conceal the rosy color of his cheeks by taking a sip of champagne.

Ginny laughed and slapped Alyssa's hands away as she took the straps again and made a more fitting adjustment. "In all seriousness, though, I'm really sorry I didn't mention it to you. I've just had all this planning running through my brain and I _completely_ forgot."

"I told you it was fine," Alyssa said sighing with her hands on her hips. She thought for a moment as Ginny finished tying a bow. "Actually, I was thinking – with me being back here and all – if you maybe wanted to… go to the Manor."

"What?" Ginny said loudly. She looked around the room to make sure no one was listening. "What do you mean – visit the Manor? What Manor are we talking about, exactly?"

"Oh, c'mon; you know what I mean." Alyssa said rolling her eyes. "I just feel like I need to go back there… I donno, maybe it's closure or something."

Ginny sighed and shook her head, "I don't know, Alyssa… Harry would flip, the place is basically a crime scene and no one is supposed to be around there."

"Then we don't have to tell him," She replied as if it were obvious. She realized they'd probably be overheard and ushered Ginny back into the dressing room so she could get out of the dress and speak naturally. "Look, maybe we could go later when everything dies down."

"I don't know… and don't start with that pout thing, Alyssa, you know it doesn't work!"

She drooped her lip even further and gave her the puppy eyes, "_Please_,"

Ginny looked at her and crossed her arms over her chest, "Fine. But only because _when_ we get caught you're going to owe me in the biggest, _biggest_ way imaginable." She said with a satisfied grin.

Later that night, after dinner, Alyssa got changed for when they'd go to the Manor. She honestly had no idea why she had the sudden urge to go; that place held nothing but bad memories to her. It would only bring them back, and make her think of Draco which, lately, only made her ache. She pulled a black sweater on and tied her hair back and then put her sneakers on before making her way back downstairs. Everyone save for Ginny, Blaise and his cousin stayed at Harry's for dinner and they were still over, watching the television in the living room.

"Where you headed?" Harry asked once he saw her ready to go out.

Alyssa came up with a quick excuse at the top of her head, "Me and Ginny were just gonna get some shopping done." Harry nodded his head and looked back at the TV, and soon enough Ginny did arrive, looking paranoid as ever.

She went straight to the fridge to grab a beer and swallowed some down. "What's the matter with you?" Alyssa questioned.

"If we get caught, I'm going to be lectured forever about how I could've gotten hurt or something; people were after _him_ specifically in the war. I wouldn't be surprised if they were keeping tabs on the place. And then they'll tell my mom and she'll have my neck." And she drew a finger across her throat as if to emphasize her point.

"No one will find out, don't worry about it. And if they do – I'll take the full blame." Ginny looked at her sardonically.

"All I'm sayin' is, if Harry finds out he'll flip."

"That's exactly why we won't tell him, then."

"Harry will flip out if he finds out what?" Ginny and Alyssa looked over their shoulders to see Harry bending over grabbing a drink from the fridge. He stood up and looked at them carefully as he twisted the cap open and took a swig.

"Um, nothing." They both answered quickly. Harry squinted his eyes at them, obviously not believing that.

"If you two are doing something serious, you should probably tell me about it."

"It's nothing – honest, we were actually just leaving, because as I said: we've got shopping to do." Alyssa said, she tightened her mouth forcing a smile and looked towards Ginny to signal their cue to leave.

"Is that true, Ginny?" Harry said looking over at her. Alyssa watched as he probed around her mind with his eyes and knew it was too late and she scoffed loudly slapping her hands against her thighs.

"You're doing WHAT?" Harry snapped suddenly. "No, I will not have any of it."

"What's going on over there?" Ron asked.

"Nothing," Harry said over his shoulder, he turned to look back at them and lowered his voice reasonably. "And whose clever idea was this?"

"Who do you think?" Ginny snapped putting her hands on her hips.

"You couldn't just close your mind?" Alyssa whined.

Harry took a step forward looking pretty close to furious, "She didn't have a reason to; don't you realize how dangerous this could be? During the war the Death Eaters were after Malfoy specifically for being a traitor – they wanted him dead."

"Told you." Ginny muttered to her.

Harry ignored her as he continued, "They were watching the Manor for ages after he killed his father till he had to leave the place because it was too dangerous. And you'd be foolish to think that people aren't still there, people who are still waiting for him to return." Alyssa had narrowed her eyes, but suddenly her brows lifted as something dawned upon her. She shook her head refusing to lose track of what she had planned on doing that night.

"You know as much as I do that I can take care of myself, Harry." Alyssa said slowly. "And so can Ginny; we'll be in and out before you know it."

"I don't want to have to save your arse a third time."

"You won't have to."

Ginny looked back and forth between them, waiting for at least one of them to give up. Though it seemed that Alyssa had won; Harry averted his eyes and took a step back while running a hand through his hair.

Finally he shook his head and sighed, "Fine, but take my Invisibility Cloak; I don't care safe you think you'll be. And if you're not back by -" he looked at his watch, "Ten – if you're not back by ten o'clock I'm sending fifty Aurors after you and you can count on that."

"Thank you, Harry." Alyssa said sincerely. She grabbed Ginny's hand and led her to the front door and Ginny shouted a last "And don't tell my mum!" before shutting the door behind them.

When they apparated to their destination, it was nearly pitch black so they were unable to tell where they were right away. They had to spin around in circles a few times to get used to the darkness, and up a tall hill they could see the silhouette of the Manor; it looked incredibly gloomy in the darkness.

"I seriously can't believe you talked me into this." Ginny whispered.

"Just be quiet until we get inside," Alyssa replied. They walked forward as quietly as possible and crept up the long hill. As they made their way up, the only thing showing their progress was the Manor getting bigger and bigger in front of them; they were walking for ten minutes before they stopped. Alyssa had never seen the front of it. In fact, she'd barely seen much of it except the backyard. She had forgotten how huge it was.

"Slow down," Alyssa said suddenly. Ginny looked at her questioningly but was silenced as Alyssa poked her hand out of the cloak and held it out, palm facing forward. "There's a barrier, I can feel it."

"Good – so we can leave right?"

"We are not leaving, just give me a moment." Alyssa snapped. She took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes, concentrating heavily on what she was doing. To Ginny, it seemed as if she were just standing there like an idiot wasting time; but soon enough a slight glow could be seen emanating from her fingertips.

"Okay – we've got to move quickly; I can't break the whole thing – it's too strong." They moved forward swiftly in the darkness, walked through the front gate and once they reached the front door, she was confident that the barrier had rebuilt itself. They stood in front of the door, and as Alyssa looked up at it her hands began to shake.

"You okay?" Ginny asked quietly. Alyssa blinked a few times and nodded before stepping forward and opening the surprisingly unlocked door. It creaked loudly as it opened, echoing around the large, empty entrance hall. "I just remembered I've never been here before." She could hear Ginny whisper. The door shut behind them and she whipped the cloak off of them. Alyssa held out her hand again, palm facing up, and created a great orb of light which lit up the entire hall.

"Holy crap," Ginny muttered.

It looked exactly the same as she remembered. The large grand staircase was as grand as ever, and the stone pillars glowed magnificently in the shadows of her light. Ginny pulled out her wand and muttered '_Lumos_!' and her wand lit up her own path.

"C'mon," Alyssa said, jutting her head to the right. They walked to the repaired door and Alyssa opened it before stepping through. This must've been the renovations that hadn't been taken care of yet. The ballroom was still a complete wreck. Alyssa hadn't realized how much damage had really been done until now. Two broken chandeliers lay on the floor glistening in the moonlight and showered nearly every inch of the floor with broken glass.

"Merlin," Ginny breathed, "Is this what happened that night?"

"Yeah." Alyssa said walking further into the room, her shoes crunching in the broken stone and glass. She let the orb float above them and increase in size to really light up the place. She followed the cracked stone of the ground to one large hole that was surrounded by gravel and plaster. "Right here, actually." She stood in the same exact position that she had been in three years ago and closed her eyes remembering what had happened.

_Voldemort appeared standing above her, staring violently at Harry who stood up – wand at the ready._

"_Foolish boy," He hissed and stepped over Alyssa's body, wand raised. Someone grabbed her arm and she whimpered as Draco stood her up._

"_Are you okay?" He shouted over the noise in the room. He had taken off his robes, and the blood from his arm was all over him and his clothes._

"_What have you done?" She asked her voice cracking. He seemed confused by the question and looked away from her as someone shouted "_Sectumsempra_" A red light came twirling towards Draco and she quickly shoved him out of the way. She fell backwards and screamed in pain as she was hit in the shoulder, blood poured out immediately as if she was slashed with an invisible sword._

_She looked up at Draco as a Death Eater ran at him, wand forgotten. Draco ducked and flipped the attacker over his back. He pulled out his wand and twirled it sending a jet of silver light towards a Death Eater who fell heavily to the ground and lay motionless._

"_HARRY!" Someone shouted suddenly. Alyssa looked over her shoulder but couldn't see where he was through all the dust. She stood up painfully, holding her ribs and slacking from her shoulder. About five curses at once were sent her direction and she weakly raised her palm. The curses hit that same invisible shield and reflected back towards their attackers._

_Alyssa's attention was brought across the room as someone shouted "YES!" and she shoved her way through. She nearly threw up at the sight, a decapitated body lay still on the floor, and Harry stood above it, breathing heavily and holding onto a silver sword with red crystal cabochons that was now smeared with blood._

"Do you think he's still alive?" Ginny asked suddenly, breaking Alyssa's trance. She opened her eyes and looked up at the hole in the roof that was right above her, and then over at Ginny to see that she was still looking around. "Or do you have that weird thing where you can still feel his heart beating even if he's not with you?" she added.

Alyssa chuckled softly and said, "Actually I can still feel his arms around me when I sleep. But it's a bit more obvious than that, isn't it?"

Ginny furrowed her brows, clearly confused, "What do you mean.

"The barrier outside is so that any living Malfoy can pass through it."

"But his mother is still alive."

"Yes," Alyssa said nodding, "But she signed the ownership over to him, so that's _his_ barrier. The only way it breaks is if he turns it off, or if he dies. That barrier is just as strong as ever, I would imagine."

Alyssa walked back towards the door, the orb hovering along after her. "Why don't you tell Harry that?"

She paused before her hand touched the knob, "Because I think he already knows." She turned back around only to see that Ginny looked even more confused. "It was the way he was talking before… about Draco leaving here because the Death Eaters were after him. I think Harry knows where he is."

"But… that doesn't make any sense. If he knows where he is, why wouldn't he tell anyone?"

"Well, he'd be trying to protect him, wouldn't he?" Alyssa pondered. "I'm gonna walk around a little bit, if you need me sound the gong."

"Real funny, Alyssa." Ginny droned.

Alyssa returned back to the grand staircase and as she walked silently up the steps she tried remembering the details of her present surroundings. She wanted to go back to Draco's room but she wasn't exactly sure how she found it the last time; she'd just been wandering around. She reached the second floor and saw a hallway filled with old, dusty hanging portraits of the blonde family – she knew that this was it. Before she was even halfway down the hallway she was greeted by his scent and she nearly fainted. The mere smell of him was enough to send her overboard. She saw the familiar portrait of Draco and his parents and stopped at his door; she took three deep breaths in and out, and opened the door.

She sent the orb in first so she could see. The room was completely empty, not even decorative wise. It seemed like it had been cleared out; empty drawers were pulled out of his dresser and desk, the only thing left of the bed was the frame and mattress, and everything was covered in dust. She made her way over to the bed and ran her hands over the top of the mattress. It felt like time moved so slow having to live without him, and now she was here in his bedroom and he was gone.

Suddenly there was a loud bang from the floor above, and it sounded as if a dog was barking. Alyssa's head snapped upwards to look at the ceiling and heard another bang. Hoping it had nothing to do with Ginny, Alyssa bolted out of the bedroom and sprinted down the long hallway. As soon as she reached the staircase she didn't even get up two steps before she collided into someone and landed sprawled on the ground. She looked over to see Ginny across from her, and the only light left was coming from her wand.

"That wasn't you?" They both said at once. "No!" Alyssa jumped up, grabbed her hand and took off down the stairs. Ginny already had the Invisibility Cloak in her hands and threw it over them as they ran through the front door and through the front gate until they reached the barrier. They only had to wait a few seconds this time before Alyssa could get them through, and they apparated back to Harry's neighborhood immediately.

"What the hell was that?" Alyssa panted as soon as they stood in the alleyway.

"I don't know…" Ginny said leaning forward, her hands on her knees, "I heard two bangs and… and a dog?"

"Yeah; I heard the same thing."

"Well…" Ginny said while sucking in a deep breath, "At least neither of us got hurt."

"Seriously," Alyssa said. She swiped a hand across her face before straightening up again, and wondered what could've possibly gone on.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Before you go on a read the chapter I just wanted to give a BIG THANKS to the awesome reviews I've been getting, they're all extremely encouraging and also entertaining to read. So here's the new chapter, i hope you enjoy it!

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It was finally the day of the wedding and the Burrow was filled with raving, red-headed lunatics. Every woman in the Weasley family and the wedding party were all running around the house trying to get ready as fast as they could for the days events. Ginny seemed to be the only calm one in the house, surprisingly enough. She had woken up at five in the morning, took a shower, and sat down in front of a mirror with a glass of champagne ready to be pampered. The wedding planner, Anna, who happened to be skilled in the area of hair styling, was standing behind her turning Ginny's hair into a beautiful mane of thick, banana curls.

There was a knock on the door and Ginny rolled her eyes before saying, "Who is it?"

Molly Weasley opened the door a crack and poked her head in, "Alyssa just got here, she's mingling downstairs but I'll tell her to come up if you want."

"Ugh, finally!" She turned in her seat to look over at her, "Thanks, mum, could you send her up?"

"Of course, dear." Three minutes passed before there was another knock at the door and Alyssa walked inside, still dressed in her pajamas.

"This is so exciting!" She squealed. She ran over to Ginny and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Sorry I'm late; Harry was cooking breakfast for some people and nearly burnt the house down."

Ginny shook her head and laughed, "He never was much of a cook. How come you're not dressed yet?"

Alyssa looked down at herself and rolled her eyes. "Ginny, it's seven in the morning, we've still got time."

"Oh, really? It's rather vague in my mind, but I do remember you taking an entire afternoon getting ready for the ball."

"That was ages ago, my love." Alyssa said flipping a dismissive hand around. She pulled a chair up next to Ginny and stared at their reflection. "I'm so happy for you… I remember back at school when you two first started dating, it was so obvious how you were in love. I bragged to everyone about how cute you guys were – are. Are you nervous at all?"

Ginny sighed as she tilted her head and quirked her lips. "Not really. I always knew I would be with him forever. It's gonna be a piece of cake – as long as everything goes smoothly. Right, Anna?"

"Too right, you are." Anna said monotonously.

"Everything will be perfect." Alyssa said nodding with reassurance. "You're hair looks awesome, by the way."

"Of course it does!" Anna snapped looking offended.

There was another knock on the door and all three of them turned to see Hermione poke her head in. "Alyssa, come downstairs." She said, Alyssa stood up, gave Ginny a kiss on the cheek and followed Hermione downstairs. They went into the living room of the Burrow where Alyssa found everyone beginning to put on their dresses and do makeup and hair.

"You've got the ring, right, Alyssa?" Hermione asked her over her shoulder.

"Yes it's right here." Alyssa dropped her bag from her shoulder and pulled out a black velvet box that held the ring Ginny had picked out for Blaise. Blaise still hadn't seen it. "Where should I put it for the ceremony, though?"

Hermione grabbed her dress from one of the racks that were set up and put a hand on her hip. "I'm not sure, cleavage, maybe?" but then laughed at the look on Alyssa's face. "Just keep it in your hand with your bouquet. It'll be fine." She turned and grabbed another dress off the rack. "Now, take this and get dressed. There're only a few hours before show time."

Alyssa rolled her eyes and took the dress out of her hands before slipping out of the room to change. She decided to leave her hair down and not get too fancy. She combed out her hair to make it smooth and it fell down to her waist in thick waves. Makeup-wise, Alyssa didn't get too fancy there, either. She put on a light layer of black eyeliner and eye shadow that shimmered in the light. She grabbed her bag again as she went back into the living room and searched for Hermione.

"Ooh! You look gorgeous!" Luna said excitedly as someone combed her hair. Other people agreed as they turned around to look and Molly hustled her way over to give Alyssa a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You look _so_ lovely, dear." She mumbled patting her cheek and rushing away again. Alyssa continued to look for Hermione and saw her on the far side trying on a pair of heels and holding a champagne glass in her hand.

"Why is everyone drinking?" Alyssa said to herself as she made her way over. "How do I look?" She said when she got to her.

"Bloody fantastic," Hermione breathed. "You've been gone about thirty minutes and you come back looking ravishing – it's ridiculous." She added shaking her head. She put her hands above her head to tie up her hair and get it out of her face. "How do you like these shoes, do they match the dress?"

Alyssa's eyes grazed down to her feet as she observed them, "You're wearing the one with the lace up back, right?" Hermione nodded. "Put the dress on first and I'll let you know. And stop drinking; all we need is you drunk at the ceremony." She snapped. There was a sudden squeal on the opposite side of the room and Molly shouted over the small crowd of women getting ready.

"Two hours till show time, people – which means we're leaving in one for pictures! We wait for nobody!" This seemed to cause a sudden uproar, and the girls already speeding, picked up the pace considerably. Alyssa found herself a neat and somewhat quiet corner where she pulled out her shoes and her shrunken jewelry box. She adjusted its size before rifling through it trying to figure out what to put on. She was picking rings out when Hermione came back in her dress and heels.

"So how does it look?" Hermione said with a spin. She had had her dress adjusted so it was a bit tighter fitting, the only jewelry she wore was a pair of earrings and her wedding ring, and her black shoes fit perfectly with the entire ensemble.

"You look excellent, Hermione." She watched as Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and rolled her eyes. "Help me choose accessories." Hermione clicked her way over to where Alyssa had perched her box on a small table.

"You've got some nice stuff, Alyssa." She said as they rifled through. She pulled out a gold bracelet and smiled gleefully, "I like this, do you mind if I wear it?"

Alyssa looked over and laughed, "Yea, sure. Harry gave that to me for Christmas."

Hermione nodded as she put it on, "He has good taste, then." They were silent for a moment as they continued to sort jewelry out and Alyssa picked out a few rings to put on. "Y'know, Alyssa, I never know why you don't just try it out with him. Now don't protest so boldly," She said when she saw Alyssa make a face. "I just have this nagging in the back of my head that says he's totally into you. Why don't you just give it a try? Especially given the circumstances…" she pressed.

Alyssa knew that Hermione meant given the fact that Draco was who knows where. But Alyssa was fully convinced that Draco was alive, no matter what anyone else thought. "Harry is like… my best friend. I feel like that'd be totally awkward." She said shaking her head. "Plus you know as well as I do that there will only ever be one man for me."

"But -"

"No 'but,' Hermione. Sooner or later Harry will find someone that'll make him happy. It just… won't be me." She said with a slight shrug.

Hermione sighed heavily and shook her head, "Well, at least I tried." Alyssa chuckled and nodded her head. "How about this? It matches your dress." Hermione said gesturing towards a necklace she was holding. Alyssa looked over and shuddered at Draco's necklace in Hermione's hand. Hermione was right, though. It would've matched her dress spectacularly, especially with the long chain and low neckline. She looked up at Hermione's smiling face and rolled her eyes before grabbing the necklace. It didn't glow, unsurprisingly, yet for some reason it made Alyssa's stomach fill up with doubt.

"Well, put it on." Hermione said. Alyssa put it over her head and turned the chain so the clasp was in the back; the big ruby fell right where the neckline ended, lining up perfectly. "Am I right, or am I right?" Hermione asked proudly.

"You're right." Alyssa said with a sigh. She closed the jewelry box and after shrinking it again, put it back in her bag. "Are we leaving soon?"

Hermione nodded as she ran her fingers through her hair, "Yeah, we've got to take some pictures and make sure everything's set up right in the castle."

"All right, then I'm going to grab something to eat. Give me shout when we're leaving." Alyssa said, walking towards the kitchen.

"You're going to eat? Before the wedding?"

"I'm going to need my strength standing in four inch heels for five hours."

An hour later, everyone found themselves apparating to a castle on the outside of Scotland where Ginny was getting married. It was a beautiful, sunny morning and the castle sat half a mile from the edge of a rocky cliff. Alyssa had no idea how they possibly had found the place, but alas, it looked amazing and the weather was perfect for_the_ day. Alyssa, Luna and Hermione walked inside; the main entrance had a hallway that led to the reception hall, altar and kitchen, and there was a grand staircase that led upstairs where there were many guest rooms, bathrooms, and a second ballroom. The three of them went upstairs to put their stuff in the guest rooms because they'd be staying there for the weekend after Ginny and Blaise left for their honeymoon later that night.

Their heels clicked loudly on the stone floor as they made their way to the room they'd be showering. Once they got there, they dropped the bags to the floor after opening the door and stared up at the magnificent room. There were three queen sized beds along the long wall, each with a sheer canopy that was billowing from the wind coming through the opened windows. The room was now brightened up due to the sunlight pouring in. There were nightstands next to each bed, and two dressers on the opposite side of the room with full length mirrors; there was also a door across the middle bed that led to the bathroom.

"Okay, so everything looks good, right?" Alyssa asked, spinning one more time in front of the mirror.

"Of course everything looks fine." Hermione snapped, "I'm so glad the weather's nice otherwise my hair would be ruined." She said dramatically; Luna and Alyssa rolled their eyes in unison. Suddenly there was a soft knock on the door and they opened it to see Molly's head pop in once again.

"Ginny's just arrived, so if you head to her room we can squeeze in some pictures with her before the wedding."

"We'll be right down," Luna said as she bent over to strap on her shoes. "I love getting all dressed up for these things; we all look so beautiful." She said airily. Hermione and Alyssa shared a look before smiling brightly at her. They all did one last glance in the mirrors before leaving the room and heading down the hall to Ginny's dressing room. There was a small crowd in the room huddling together where Ginny must've been, and flashes from the photographer's camera were constantly going off.

A voice suddenly shouted out, "Move, I want to see my Bride's Maids!" The group of people all seemed to part away as Ginny pushed forward; a glowing Ginny, that is. Her champagne dress looked more enigmatic than it had before, and that combined with the sheer veil completed the image of a perfect Bride. Her thick red hair fell to her elbows in barrel curls, and her skin looked fresh and peach, lacking as many freckles that were usually present.

"You look amazing!" Hermione practically screamed. The four girls all ran at each other and shared a tight group hug; more flashes of the camera bulb went off.

"Don't mess up her hair!" Anna shouted running after them, "And watch the makeup – it's still settling in!"

They broke away giggling like little school girls and stood looking around, admiring each other. "I want pictures of you girls before we have to set up, so quickly, stand together." Molly instructed waving one hand at them and the other at the photographer. They spent the next twenty minutes arranging at least fifty different types of photos. They would line up in different orders, or it'd be just Ginny, or just the Bride's Maids, or some with just the Bride and her Maid of Honor. Their cheeks were starting to hurt from all the smiling and the wedding hadn't even begun. When the time came for them to line up downstairs, everyone left the room except for Ginny and her mom.

"I love you, and I'm so proud of you." Alyssa had said before she left Ginny, she kissed her cheek and gave her another tight hug. "I'll see you out there."

Alyssa, Hermione and Luna grabbed their bouquets of roses and headed downstairs; the photographer not trailing too far behind. They hung around by the grand staircase until all the guests filed in; there were at least two-hundred people there. Most Alyssa had seen or heard of; there were people from school who she hadn't yet seen like the Patil twins, Neville Longbottom, and Dean Thomas. A lot of people, Alyssa didn't recognize, probably from Blaise's side of the family. Once everyone was ready and seated, Molly ushered them down the stairs before taking her own seat at the front row.

"Ready gals?" Alyssa asked from her position up front. Hermione and Luna nodded their heads before taking a deep calming breath. They put on the brightest smiles they could muster just as the music started; that was their cue.

Alyssa rounded her shoulders as the doors opened in front of her. She looked around at the crowd that was staring back at her, and down the aisle where Blaise was standing – looking more gorgeous and happy than she had ever seen him. She took another calming breath before stepping forward and walking down the aisle; it was more nerve-racking than she thought it'd be with everyone staring at her. She felt like it was her own wedding. Once she got to the end she winked at Blaise and briefly glanced at Harry before taking her spot; Hermione and Luna were soon after.

"All rise," a booming voice said. The crowd rose and camera bulbs started flashing as the doors opened once again revealing Ginny and her father, Arthur. There was an intake of breath and gasps that could be heard throughout the room, and for good reason. Ginny looked absolutely breathtaking; and as Alyssa looked over at Blaise, she thought he might faint.

The ceremony wasn't as long as Alyssa thought it would be because before she knew it, Blaise and Ginny were exchanging rings. Ginny turned to Alyssa with rosy cheeks and tears in her eyes as she asked for the ring. She pulled it off the ribbon that held the roses together and handed it to her before kissing her cheek again. And then once again, before she knew it, they were saying "_I do_."

The crowd erupted into cheers (or in Molly's case – sobs) as the two of them embraced each other and kissed for the first time as a married couple. The doors opened again and Blaise and Ginny made their exit; Alyssa and Harry walked towards each other, linked arms and took off after them.

Everyone was having a blast during the reception; no one had ever seen a happier family gathering than what had been going on that afternoon. There was dancing, drinking, eating, more dancing and more drinking. Molly Weasley was the first one to lose it; she had been overtaken by tears and drowned out her sorrows with champagne. Otherwise all had gone better than anticipated. Ginny and Blaise were announced as newlyweds and shoved cake in each other's mouths and faces. Alyssa spent most of the time dancing with Harry; but there was no snogging, much to the disappointment of Hermione.

She was having a good time, though she couldn't help thinking of Draco. He should've been Blaise's Best Man, and he should've been dancing with Alyssa, not Harry. Her speech is what had ruined it all.

Once Ginny and Blaise were announced as a couple, they sat down for dinner, and Alyssa – being the Maid of Honor – proposed a toast.

"When I first met Ginny," Alyssa had started, "I didn't think I had met anyone more unique and as stunning as she was. Right away we became best friends and I haven't gotten to know anyone the way I have with her," Besides Draco, she had thought. "And I don't think anyone's gotten to know me the way she has." Besides Draco, she thought again.

"And then, of course, there is Blaise." She had continued to say. "Probably one of the biggest flirts I'll ever know," The crowd laughed, "But I knew straight away that they would fit together… I feel such honor to have witnessed the beginning of your lives together, and you better take care of her, Blaise." She said looking him in the eye, "I mean it." He gave her a small smile as he wrapped an arm around Ginny and nodded; the crowd applauded as Alyssa sat back down.

After that, Alyssa had started to feel somewhat depressed. But she tried as hard as she could to push those persistent thoughts to the back of her mind; this was Ginny's day, and she wouldn't dwell on anything else.

"There you are!" Ginny said suddenly appearing at her side, "I've been looking all over for you!"

"I've been around," Alyssa shouted over the loud music with a shrug, "Your brothers have been trying to introduce me to the _entire_ family… I don't think it's turning out so well." She laughed.

Ginny nodded and rolled her eyes; _she_ probably didn't even know the entire Weasley family. "Well the photographer and my mum want more pictures of all of us; Blaise and I were out there before but they want the entire group." Alyssa nodded and took Ginny's hand as she led her out to the entrance hall.

"Right, let's get the maids and the men together," The photographer said once they got out there. Once again they spent another few minutes arranging different pictures. The girls lined up all together next to the boys and then switched so that they were each with a partner.

"Don't make me laugh this time," Alyssa warned Harry, she had sneezed in the middle of a previous picture causing Harry to make fun of her every chance he could.

"I was merely stating how attractive that face must've looked on camera." Harry said trying to look offended.

"It must've looked something like this," Alyssa said before scrunching up her face and flaring her nostrils. Harry burst out laughing and bent over holding his sides, "Yea, yea, laugh it up."

"Oh, could you just take the bloody picture?" Hermione snapped, "I want to get back to the party."

"Yes, Harry, you must _control_ yourself." Alyssa said sternly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled as the photographer took another picture.

"Mum, this really better be the last one," Ginny insisted ten minutes later, "I don't want to spend my entire wedding day taking bloody pictures."

"Hush, dear." Molly insisted.

"Mum, just look in the _Prophet_ for pictures, the press is maddening in there." Which was true; the major press must've been waiting till after the ceremony to try and get their photos. "Come _on_, our song is playing!"

"Oh,_fine_! You know, I only have one daughter; I've got to savor this as much as I can."

"Don't even play that bloody card, mum; it hasn't worked on me since I was fifteen!"

"Quickly, let's ditch before it's too late." Harry whispered into Alyssa's ear. She nodded in eager agreement and they snuck out of the hall and back into the reception room. The mood had slowed down reasonably due to the setting sun and the slow song that was now playing. "Shall we dance, my dear?" Harry asked, taking her hand.

"We shall." Alyssa nodded. He spun her out onto the dance floor before pulling her close and hard to his chest. "Harry, I think you've had a bit too much to drink today." She said with a laugh.

"That may be so… but don't tell anyone." He whispered before taking her left hand in his right, and wrapping the other around her waist. Alyssa looked around the room at the dancing couples and was satisfied to see that Ginny and Blaise were dancing about fifteen feet away from them.

"They amaze me," Alyssa said softly as she rested her head on his chest. "They're so in love… they're what anyone can hope for."

"Don't worry, Alyssa." Harry said, the vibrations of his voice traveling through his chest and into hers. "The same thing will happen to the rest of us some day. You've got nothing to worry about." Alyssa felt butterflies flutter around in her stomach and furrowed her brows thinking of what Hermione said earlier; because what if Harry really did have feelings for her? What then?

"Do you want a drink? I'm getting more champagne," She asked him. He nodded and they parted right as the song ended. She walked over to the bar and grabbed two flutes that were waiting to be filled with champagne.

What would happen if she did decide to be with Harry? There was nothing wrong with him; he was one of the sweetest people she knew, he was ridiculously funny and fun to be around. And hell – he _was_ very good looking. But for so long he had just been a best friend to her. He was her _savior_ and she didn't know if it was possible to change that sort of relationship into a _romantic_ relationship… and that was when something bizarre happened.

It all happened so fast she could barely keep up.

There was a tap on her shoulder and thinking it was Harry she grabbed the second, newly filled flute. Just as she picked it up she stumbled forward as red hot intensity shot through her chest. She gasped loudly and yelled as she looked down to see that her necklace was glowing so brightly it burnt her skin. She dropped the second flute to grab her necklace of her chest and took a few calming breaths before shaking her head and turning around.

She froze completely, for Draco was standing directly in front of her; he was the one who tapped her shoulder. Alyssa blinked her eyes several times _knowing_ that she must've been having a hallucination. But other people started to notice it too.

Someone screamed, "It's him!" and tens of heads turned to look and see Draco Malfoy standing as calm, and as healthy looking as ever. Alyssa couldn't move, couldn't breathe, as realization hit her like a rock to the face. She dropped her champagne flute to the floor and it shattered at her feet, causing even more people to look over.

Her eyes couldn't leave his silver ones; she couldn't see the ghost of a smile that was gracing his pale features, couldn't see the dashing suit that he put on for the wedding or how he must've lost at least ten pounds since she saw him last. She finally gasped a huge breath of air as photographers rushed forward with their bulbs flashing and people closed in screaming and demanding questions of him; obviously, this wasn't as quiet as he wanted it to be. The crowd pushed her farther and farther away from him but their eyes never left each other.

A hand gripped like a vice onto her wrist and she was unwillingly dragged away. She was shoved against a wall and slapped a few times on the face.

"Alyssa! Are you okay?" Ginny shouted in her face; Alyssa's eyes were wide with disbelief. "Alyssa, please say something! I had no idea! The press is gonna have a sodding field day!"

"Is that… is that really…?" Alyssa said between deep breaths as she began to hyperventilate. "Was that him? Is it him? Ginny!"

"Yes, it's Draco sodding Malfoy. Leave it to him to make a bloody scene." Ginny said rolling her eyes, "Calm down, Alyssa. Breathe with me, breathe…"

"But – you said – he's supposed to – what is he doing here? I can't breathe – Ginny – I can't breathe!" Alyssa's chest heaved heavily up and down as she tried gasping for breath.

"Uh-oh," Ginny muttered, "Blaise! Blaise, get over here!" She panicked as she tried fanning Alyssa's face with her hand.

Blaise, who hadn't strayed more than ten feet away from Ginny the entire day was at her side in a flash – and just in time. Alyssa's eyes rolled to the back of her head as she fainted and fell to the side into Blaise's outstretched arms.

"She's just seen him, I take it?" Blaise asked Ginny as he adjusted Alyssa in his arms.

Ginny nodded, "Just take her to a guest room upstairs… I have to get this press out of here."

"_Sorry I caused such a fuss at your wedding."_

_Blaise shook his head as Ginny rubbed his shoulder, "Nonsense, Draco, we're just really glad you're back. I don't care how many press people had to barge in."_

_Draco nodded and ran a hand through his hair, "Just tell her… I'm sorry I gave her such a fright. I didn't know I'd get such a reaction," He laughed nervously. "Maybe I'll send a warning next time?"_

_Ginny threw a dismissive hand around, "No need, Draco. It was more dramatic this way and she made an arse of herself which is nothing but good entertainment." She said with a laugh._

_Draco chuckled before looking at his watch again. "I'm sorry, but I really must be going. My house is bound to be surrounded with reporters and I want to get a head start. Pete's probably having a fit."_

"_Don't worry about it; we'll be clearing out soon as well." Blaise said._

Alyssa sat up with a slight headache and rubbed her eyes. "Ah, sleeping beauty is awake at last." Blaise said from her side. She looked around the room to also see Ginny, Hermione, Harry, Luna and Ron spread around the room looking at her.

"How long was I out?"

"Half hour, give or take."

Alyssa slapped a hand to her mouth, "I'm so sorry!"

"Don't worry about it," Ginny said, "We just left you up here, anyway."

"Draco says he's sorry for giving you quite a start." Blaise said quietly. He was being cautious with his words incase she decided to faint again. Alyssa slowly turned her head to look at him; she had almost started to think that it had been a dream, or really a hallucination. "He had to leave – things to do – but he wanted us to tell you that."

"So… he really was there." She said; everyone nodded. She rested back onto the couch that she happened to be lying on and said, "Does anyone have a cigarette?"

In a flash, Blaise pulled one out of his tuxedo jacket and plucked it between her lips before lighting it. "Thanks," She mumbled. He turned around to see Ginny glaring at him.

"Well, it's nearly seven which means we have a honeymoon to get started." Ginny said. Alyssa sat up again and looked over at Ginny, noticing for the first time that she had changed out of her gown and into a white mini dress.

"Right, we do." Blaise said charmingly as he stood up and walked towards her. Everyone gathered around to say their goodbyes and Alyssa swayed heavily as she walked over, as well. "When will you be getting back?" She asked them.

"In two weeks, so have fun without me." Ginny mumbled as she hugged Alyssa, "Thanks for being my best friend."

"You know it. And the wedding was phenomenal." Alyssa said as they pulled away.

"Of course it was. I'm sure Anna is off drinking herself to a stupor in celebration."

After the couple left the room, the rest of them fell into silence and Alyssa turned around to look at them. "Well I don't know about you all, but I'm going back to the bar and will also be drinking myself to a stupor." She turned and walked out the door.

"Too right, you are." Harry said as he followed suit.

Two hours and many beers later, Alyssa found herself standing by the cliff, wrapped in a jacket and feeling rather stupid… as well as drunk. She had been wanting to see Draco every day for the past three years, and finally when he shows up right front of her, she blew it. If she hadn't of freaked out and fainted she would've been able to at least speak to him. Instead, she made a fool of herself, missed out on seeing the man she loved, and spent the rest of the day drinking and smoking cigarettes.

Her hand glowed as she heated herself up again and she turned to look over her shoulder as someone approached.

"How're you doin'?" Harry asked as he reached her side. "Everyone was worried that you threw yourself over the edge or something."

"Not to worry," Alyssa said with a shrug, "Only contemplating."

"Y'know, you could just owl him or something; he's at the Manor and it's not that late." Harry suggested. He put his hands in his pockets and shrugged up his shoulders as a cool wind rushed by. "I know he wants to talk to you."

"I'm rather embarrassed, if you get my drift."

Harry laughed, "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. At least you didn't scream or pee your pants or somethin'."

Alyssa nodded her head in agreement, "You've got a point there." She looked at her watch noticing it was only a bit past midnight; the day had flown by so fast. "Harry, do you mind if I ask you something? Well… it's more of a statement, actually."

"Go ahead," He replied without hesitation.

She quirked her lips and didn't even bother with beating around the bush. "I know you knew that he was alive, and that you knew where he was." She watched his face to see what kind of reaction she'd get out of him; but he only smiled.

"That doesn't surprise me; you seem to have developed a knack of catching on to things."

Alyssa rolled her eyes, "Yea, well that's what happens when everyone around you is scheming... How long did you know?"

He didn't even bother asking about how she had figured it out. "I'm an Auror, Alyssa; it's my job to know. I'm the one who suggested he leave."

"What?" Alyssa was shocked; that part she hadn't figured out.

"It was a last minute decision, but the opportunity sort of presented itself." Harry said with his formal voice put on – now that he was talking about business. "He really did get hurt, pretty bad, actually. He wanted to continue on because everything was nearly done with anyway. But the thing with that war is that there will always be little groups of Death Eaters – trying to restart what they couldn't finish. Even if we thought we'd killed or arrested every one of them, Draco would've been a main target for the silent follower; he is a traitor, after all. So I told him to leave."

"So you were the only one who knew about it?"

Harry nodded. "I told him to leave as quickly as possible; that I would cover up everything and make it seem like he was dead until it was safe to come back again. He was extremely reluctant about it but it didn't matter; he didn't exactly have a choice."

"Where has he been, then?" Alyssa asked him.

"I don't really know exact locations," Harry said with a shrug, "You should ask him yourself, now that he's back." He looked over at her with a smug smile.

Alyssa stayed silent, taking in all of the information he just gave her. "Come back inside," He said putting a hand on her shoulder, "We don't want you to jump." He laughed as he looked over the edge of the cliff and at the waves of water that crashed against the rocky bottom.

"You want me to just go on with the day's events after what you just told me?" Alyssa asked incredulously.

Harry tried to look extremely serious and said, "Yes," before laughing it off.

* * *

**A/N: **I hope you liked the chapt, it was really exciting to write as i'm sure you can imagine. I'm still trying to get my updates a bit quicker, it's been extremely busy here for the past two weeks so its hard to get stuff in here and there, but they seem to be slowing down so you can expect the next one soon! Reviews are much appreciated and thanks to those of you who've already given me some great stuff. 


	5. Chapter 5

There was a soft knock on the door, echoing around the room and stirring Alyssa from her deep, dreamless sleep. It was the first morning back from the weekend in the castle; she had barely slept during the weekend from all the anxiety that came along with Draco's sudden appearance. She spent too much time drinking, and not enough time sleeping, and she finally collapsed on Harry's couch once they made it back. Thirteen hours ago he had carried her up to her own room and no one heard a peep from her since… There was another knock on the door and her left eye slowly cracked opened.

"Alyssa, are you awake?" Hermione asked from the other side of the door.

Alyssa moaned in reply. She closed her eye back up and rolled over so that her back was facing the door and sighed as she tried to welcome more sleep.

Hermione pushed the door opened and didn't hesitate to let herself in and sit on the edge of Alyssa's bed. "You shouldn't treat yourself like this," Hermione said softly. "You've been drinking too much and I'm pretty sure you haven't smoked like this since you were seventeen. It's like you're thinking that Draco's return is a _bad_ thing; I would've thought you'd be heading towards his Manor straight away to see him."

Both of Alyssa's eyes opened and she struggled to keep them that way as she spoke. "Of course it's not a bad thing, 'Mione." She mumbled. "I'm in shock or something."

"Well, get out of shock and out of this bed." Hermione said, suddenly sounding chipper than she had been previously. Alyssa looked over at the clock seeing that it was two in the afternoon.

"Ugh," She growled, "Why?"

Hermione laughed as she stood back up from the bed. "Because Harry and I took it upon ourselves to do the work for you. We're all getting together for dinner tonight, and Draco will be joining us… and I'm pretty sure you don't want him to see you like this."

"You're joking." Alyssa said monotonously.

"I'm afraid not, my dear." Hermione said in a sing-song voice. She threw the covers off of Alyssa and put her hands on her hips. "Dinner is at six, which means you have four hours; you're going to get some sunlight with Harry, and then you're going to clean yourself up." Alyssa rolled over to look at Hermione who only smiled gleefully at her, "Draco really is coming."

"What if I faint again?"

Hermione threw her head back as she laughed, "Hopefully this is warning enough to prepare you. Or perhaps you can just drink some more and loosen yourself up?" At Alyssa's hopeful look she added, "That's a joke."

Alyssa sat up in bed as Hermione walked out of the room. Getting a bit of sunlight meant running three miles with Harry, sadly enough. Normally, she wouldn't have minded going out for a run. In fact, given her job she had to keep in shape, and even though she was on 'vacation' she wasn't going to ruin the condition she had worked so hard to achieve. But today just wasn't the day. She wasn't exactly sure why she was taking such poor care of herself. For the first day, Draco's return and scene at the wedding was a huge shock to Alyssa, but now she was acting as if she was downright mentally disturbed. Perhaps it was because she was actually considering dating Harry three seconds before Draco popped out of_nowhere_. Or – it could've been because maybe when he did first go missing she, at first, really did think that he was dead. To think that the love of your life was dead, even if it was only for a second, was completely indescribable. There was no word that could sum up the amount of sadness and guilt Alyssa had felt.

So maybe the drinking and smoking was really just some fucked up way to celebrate the relief of _knowing_ he was alive, and not just hoping he was.

Alyssa put her feet to the floor and stood up to stretch. With a sigh, her back cracked loudly and she shook her joints out. She crossed the room to the closet where she pulled out some running clothes and threw them on her bed ready to change. As she returned to the bed, she flicked on her lamp, lighting up the room and revealing the _Daily Prophet_ where the front page stated boldly 'Draco Malfoy Returns!' The cover had a picture that one of the annoying reporters took at the wedding. Draco wasn't looking at the camera and the crowd surrounding him all had their jaws dropped and were pointing. On the far left of the picture was half of Alyssa's frozen body – even with the movement of the picture, she stood as still as a statue.

She was glad they had a picture of him, though, because she was too busy being unconscious to even get a good look at him. Draco looked so much skinner than she had remembered him being. He had obviously always been fit, but in a thick, meaty sort of way; in the picture he looked like he wasn't eating right. It seemed a bit unnatural, really.

And then on the next few pages it had a short story about his return, not knowing where he'd been because he had rudely refused to answer any of their questions, and how he still refused to do so even after they followed him home the same night.

Moving on, Alyssa thought to herself, she quickly changed into her running clothes before going to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She looked like crap, she decided after looking into the mirror. Her hair was a fuzzy mess, she had bags under her eyes and she looked paler than usual. She brushed her teeth and tamed her hair as much as she could before tying it in a ponytail and heading downstairs.

Harry was standing in front of the kitchen counter reading the paper and dressed to run and Hermione was sitting in the living room watching television with Luna.

"You picked the best morning ever," Alyssa said to him sarcastically.

He looked up at her briefly before smiling as he continued on with the paper. "I know, its gorgeous out and the weathers perfect for a run."

The fake smile dropped from Alyssa's face and she rolled her eyes. "Can't you just do this at work or something? Why aren't you there, anyway?"

Harry sighed as he put the paper down, "I've been harassed by reporters do give them some information about Draco; they seem to have gotten my schedule down so I'm going in late to avoid them."

Alyssa moved to the fridge and poured herself a glass of orange juice. She slowly sipped at it while trying to ignore the nauseous feeling she had in her stomach. Once she put her glass down and into the sink Harry said, "Ready to run?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." She replied.

The run outside wasn't as awful as she thought it'd be. It was a cool afternoon and the breeze felt good as she and Harry ran down the street. Harry knew she was feeling sick so they only ran two miles, which still killed her by the time they were finished. All the alcohol she had consumed seemed extremely tempted to throw itself back out of her stomach with each gasp for breath she took. Once they returned to Harry's front yard, she took off her shirt and threw herself to the ground.

"That's what happens when you nearly smoke yourself to death." Harry said standing above her. "Do you want some water?"

"Lovely." She murmured. Harry left momentarily and came back outside with two water bottles. He tossed one to her and it landed on the ground next to her head, she obviously didn't even bother trying to catch it. He rolled his eyes and sat down on the ground next to her. "So how do you feel about this dinner thing?" He asked softly.

By now Alyssa had recovered and weakly brought the water bottle to her lips to sip at it. "I dunno, just hoping I don't make a fool of myself again… I guess it'll be weird and all – seeing him again. It's been a long time." She snapped up into a sitting position, suddenly not wanting to talk about the subject – especially with Harry. It wasn't like he wasn't easy to talk to, but she felt like she'd be slightly confused if she continued to talk about Draco with Harry. Hermione had gotten to her; now she had a nagging in her _own_ head that maybe Harry did actually feel something for her.

Instead, she decided to stretch her muscles. She knew if she didn't she'd be sore the rest of the day and she could already see enough stress coming. "So, is this like a dress up thing, or casual?" She asked him, changing the subject.

Harry shrugged and ran a hand through his sloppy hair. "Not sure, I think it's more casual. You should ask Hermione, she probably has a better idea than I do."

Alyssa nodded and pulled her leg up behind her to stretch her quads out. She looked over at Harry who was still sitting on the ground drinking his water; obviously running only two miles wasn't strenuous enough for him to stretch after.

"Help me stretch my hams?" She asked lying on the ground. She regretted it just as the words left her mouth, though. Letting another person help you stretch your hamstrings meant being in an extremely awkward position. On a normal day, doing this with Harry wouldn't have been a problem, but now it was a different story.

"Sure," He said, without hesitation, and without realizing what that meant.

She laid flat on her back and raised her right leg in the air as Harry knelt in front of her. His left hand gripped her shin right below the knee, and his right rested on her inner thigh. Alyssa closed her eyes as she felt the tugging of her muscle pull as he gently pushed forward. She didn't dare open her eyes; she could already feel the heat from his face inches away from her own. The only thing she could do was lay there and try to ignore the warmth radiating from the palms of his hands. After an agonizingly slow thirty seconds she switched to her left leg, which happened to be more sore than the right. As Harry pushed forward the tugging sensation felt like a sharp prick. She gasped and her eyes flew opened.

"You okay?" Harry asked quietly as he lightened the pressure. She nodded quickly and bit her lip. His face was hovering right above hers and she realized she was panting slightly through her nose from the sudden pain in her leg. He smiled at her response and for a second she thought he might kiss her, but the next thing she knew he was lowering her leg back down to the ground.

"Thanks." Alyssa managed to say. He nodded and stood up before offering his hand to help her up. She grabbed her water bottle off the ground and took his hand.

Once they got back inside, there was a loud clutter of noise. Harry and Alyssa looked to their left to see Hermione and Luna coughing uncontrollably and straightening themselves out. Harry cocked an eyebrow and Alyssa rolled her eyes; the two girls had obviously been watching them through the window.

"I'll be in the shower." Alyssa muttered before heading up the stairs.

"Hermione, could you please come up here?" Alyssa shouted an hour and a half later. She had her damp hair pinned at the top of her head and was walking around in a bathrobe trying to decide on what to wear.

Hermione made her way upstairs and popped her head into Alyssa's bedroom. "What is it?"

Alyssa sighed and slapped her hands to her hips, "What the _fuck_ am I supposed to wear?" She gestured to the room with both of her hands to show the many array of outfits spread out over her bed.

"Well, I don't know." Hermione said, startled. She entered the room and shut the door behind her. "You can dress nice if you want – well, I know you want – it's not an extremely formal dinner though."

She ran a stressed hand over her face and let down her hair to shake it out. "If you could just pick something out for me, that'd be lovely, because I think I'm going to lose my mind."

"Are you seriously this worried about seeing Draco again?" Hermione asked. She sat down on Alyssa's bed and began sorting through the clothes that she had pulled out. "I'm sure he doesn't care what you're wearing. He wants to see _you_ – not how your sense of style has developed these past few years."

Alyssa sighed again and flopped herself on top of the other end of the bed. She rested the back of her head on the headboard and closed her eyes, waving at Hermione to continue.

"You know…" Hermione said warily, Alyssa knew what was coming, "That was a cute little show you put on with Harry this afternoon."

"Get out of my head, Hermione." Alyssa snapped. "This is getting ridiculous, you're making me paranoid, and right now I have enough stress as it is."

Hermione smiled and shook her head, "I'm just saying." She picked up a set of clothes and tossed it in Alyssa's direction, "I think you should wear this." Alyssa looked down at the clothes; Hermione had picked out a pair of dark jeans and a red button up shirt. "You always look good in red." She added with a smile.

Alyssa smiled gratefully at her before heading back into the bathroom to get dressed. She combed out her hair and put on a bit of makeup and looked at the mirror; she looked reasonably better since she woke up that afternoon.

"Alyssa, there's a letter for you down here!" Luna suddenly called from downstairs.

She looked in the mirror one more time, put on some socks and headed downstairs. Luna pointed over to the kitchen table where an envelope was addressed to her; she could tell from the handwriting that it was a letter from Brad.

"I totally forgot!" She shouted suddenly, causing everyone to look up at her, "He didn't even come to the wedding!" She shook her head at the questioning glances and ripped opened the letter.

_Alyssa,_

_I'm so sorry I didn't show up (though I heard about Draco coming back so I'm sure you had enough of an eventful evening)! Something came up and Liz and I went to Scotland to see her parents. I'm not going to write about it in the letter; I'd rather tell you in person, so I'll be coming to see you. But don't worry; Liz won't be coming with me. I'll be coming to Harry's house tomorrow morning; I've already spoken to him so I know where it is. Once again, I'm really sorry I didn't come, but I hope you're enjoying yourself over there. _

_Everything is fine in Romania – everyone misses you obviously. Things aren't as eventful as they were, but alas, the show must go on. So I'll see you tomorrow, little sis, and I'm looking forward to it._

_Love, Brad_

"Is that from Brad, then?" Hermione asked, coming to her side and reading the letter over her shoulder. "I wonder what the occasion is. You think everything is all right?"

Alyssa nodded and also wondered what it could've been. "If something was wrong he wouldn't have wasted time to write a letter."

At that moment, Luna stood up from her position on the couch and put on her sweater. "Are we going to the Ministry yet?" She asked lightly.

"We're going to the Ministry?" Alyssa asked.

Hermione nodded and grabbed her own jacket from a chair in front of the table. "We're meeting the boys there first before we go." Alyssa's stomach fluttered realizing she was only moments from seeing Draco again. "And just remember," Hermione added, "You've got to breathe, we can't have you fainting again."

"Oh, real funny, Hermione." Alyssa snapped rolling her eyes. "I'll be right back; I have to get my shoes on." The other two girls nodded and Alyssa went back upstairs to get her boots. She made a quick stop into the bathroom to – once again – make sure everything looked just right. She stood right in front of the sink, staring at her reflection before forcing herself to leave and head back downstairs.

"Ready to go?" Hermione asked.

Alyssa shook her head, "No, but lets just get this over with."

The lift stopped at their floor with a ring of a bell. The doors slid opened and Alyssa, Hermione and Luna all stepped out. They waved to the woman at the front desk as they walked across the tiled floor. Since it was later in the day, it wasn't as busy as it was the last time Alyssa was there.

"Please tell me again, why do we have to pick them up?" Alyssa asked.

Hermione snorted and rolled her eyes, "Would you just stuff it? You're going to have to see him sooner or later, and I thought you'd want it to be sooner."

They continued walking down the hall until they reached Harry's office. Hermione went to go knock on the door but before she did, Alyssa shot forward. "Wait! Wait," she hissed. She pushed a startled Hermione out of the way and peaked through the crack of the door. She could hear someone sorting through papers but wasn't able to see anything; there were no voices either so it wasn't possible to tell who was in there. She lurched forward as Hermione pushed her, and she fell into the room giving Harry a start.

"You okay there?" He asked Alyssa who was trying to regain her footing.

She looked nervously around the room and brushed herself off as she realized he was the only one there. "Yes, I'm fine." She said quietly as she glared at Hermione.

"Are we ready to go?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah," he said nodding and standing up from behind his desk. "Just let me clean up this crap, Draco and Ron will be over in a bit."

Alyssa looked around noticing his office was a complete mess. There were empty cardboard boxes and napkins, and dozens of pieces of parchment were crinkled and spread around the floor. "What happened in here?"

Harry chuckled and scratched his head, "There's still garbage from lunch, papers everywhere, and a bunch of junk mail I had to rid of."

"I'll help you out," Alyssa said. Harry began to protest but Alyssa was already fidgeting so much that she had to do something. She got on her hands and knees – while Hermione and Luna took a seat – and started picking up some of the papers. "Harry, I never thought you to be the type to be this messy."

"Yeah, well, I'm not the only one who made this mess." He said while tossing some things in the trash. They cleaned up everything relatively quickly and the room looked close to spotless and just as Harry escorted the three girls out of the room a bark of laughter could be heard coming from down the hallway.

"You bloody tosser," Ron was laughing loudly. "You're acting like a pansy, asking me something like that. You want me to swoon after you? You look fine."

Alyssa looked down to her left and she could feel her jaw drop to form an unattractive gape. Ron and Draco were walking towards them immersed in conversation; they hadn't yet noticed them.

"I don't hear you breathing," Hermione teased from behind.

Alyssa closed her mouth and took deep, even breaths and her eyes – instead of her mouth – began to widen. Harry locked the door and almost said it was all right to go before he noticed the interaction. Draco finally looked over and his pace slowed reasonably. Once again, she had trouble trying to look at anything else but into his bright, silver eyes. He was wearing black dress pants, a navy blue sweater, and had his cloak on already. The closer he came towards her, the more she realized had changed. Looks wise – he was pretty much the same; but physicality wise, he was much different. Perhaps it was because he was thinner but he looked at least two inches taller than the last time she saw him. His skin must've become acclimated to wherever he had been, for he actually had some color to it and his hair was more blonde than ever. Then, of course, was the fact that he had lost so much weight. Even with the somewhat thick sweater he was wearing, he still looked much skinnier than normal.

For a moment, Alyssa pictured herself in a sappy romance movie and that they'd run towards each other through a cornfield with their arms outstretched... But then she had to mentally slap herself in the face; this was Draco Malfoy, he'd be the last person on earth to run gaily through cornfields. So instead, as he approached her she tried to force herself to say hi but instead made an odd sort of gurgling sound.

"That means hello." Luna said to Draco.

Draco nodded and smiled brightly, "Right, thanks." He murmured. "Hello,"

"Hi," She breathed.

Draco stepped forward for what looked like a hug but Ron put a hand on his shoulder. "Not straight away, mate. I think she'll need some wine in her system before she'll be able to touch you without fainting."

Alyssa snorted and looked away, shifting uncomfortably on her feet.

"Well, who's hungry?" Harry asked, breaking the silence.

Towards the end of dinner, Alyssa was finally starting to settle in; she had three glasses of wine to loosen up a bit. They'd gone to a pretty busy restaurant on purpose, knowing it'd be easier to go by unnoticed so there wouldn't be any nosy people trying to get at Draco. They were sitting opposite from each other, and were both trying hard not to stare so obviously at the other; but the truth was, it was nearly downright impossible to not look. Alyssa felt like she was in a daydream; it was absolutely surreal to be sitting across from Draco, their knees practically touching. She was glad Ron had decided to step in before he hugged her because it truly would have caused her to faint… again.

"What?" She said airily as she was pulled from her zone. Ron said her name twice and Luna finally decided to smack her on the shoulder.

"Do you want any coffee?" He asked.

Alyssa sat up from her slouched position and nodded, "Oh, no, I'm good. Pretty full, actually." She added, patting her stomach for emphasis.

"Actually, if you want," Harry started to say, "We can just head back to my place for some coffee." Unsurprisingly, everyone agreed and they left the restaurant and apparated back to Harry's neighborhood. But as they neared his house, Draco stepped forward and touched Alyssa's arm.

She turned to look at him, surprised by the sudden contact. "Would you like to go for a walk?" He asked softly.

"Sure," She replied eagerly. They looked over at everyone else who were already looking back at them. "We're just gonna go for a walk." She said.

It was getting colder now. The neighborhood was absolutely quiet for no one was outside except for the two of them. Alyssa kept continually shooting glances at Draco, as if still unable to believe that he truly was back and standing right next to her. She wasn't sure if he knew what she was doing, but they had both been doing the same thing to each other all throughout dinner so it didn't matter. They walked in silence for a minute or two before Draco's intake of breath signaled that he was about to speak.

"I know you're probably sick of getting asked this, but how have you been?" He asked softly.

Alyssa looked over at him again and smiled slightly, because he was right; she was starting to strongly dislike having to go over how she felt and how it was in Romania. But if he was the one to ask it, then she would answer without hesitation.

"I've been pretty good. I hated everything at first, but you get used to it." She replied. She was going to ask him how he had been but he continued with another question.

"Was everything okay in Romania?"

"Yeah, I guess… for the most part anyway. It was cool living with Brad and meeting his friends and stuff," Alyssa realized he was already getting her to say things that she had told no one else. "But I've never really gotten the chance to live on my own, you know? Staying with Harry now is probably the closest I've ever been to being alone – and even with him, people are constantly in and out of the house."

Draco nodded, listening intently to take in the information that he had missed out on. He looked like he was going to say something else but Alyssa interrupted by stopping abruptly on the sidewalk. She wasn't in the mood for this awkward small talk. This was the man she loved, for God's sake, and she wasn't going to waste time with these silly, pointless questions.

"I'm so sorry I left," She said suddenly. His eyebrows popped up in surprise a few centimeters, and she realized she might've sounded a little stupid. "If there was one thing in my life that I could change, it would've been that. There aren't even words to sum up how guilty I felt – how I still feel for just leaving out of the blue. I never meant for that to have happened that way, and I just feel so – so _ridiculous_," The words were coming out jumbled and she didn't have a clue of what she was really trying to say.

"Alyssa," Draco breathed with a frown on his face, but the sound of her name leaving his lips made her stomach flip over and she threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. She hugged onto him with more strength than she thought she could muster. She could feel his chest vibrate as he chuckled and adjusted his arms to wrap around her shoulders. Alyssa had never felt a better hug in her life as she inhaled his scent; this was what she lived for. And unsurprisingly, soon after, her knees became jello and she went limp in his arms. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh as he rested his chin on her head.

"I guess Weasley was right," Draco said with a smirk as he easily supported her weight, "I didn't mean to make you faint."

"I know," Alyssa mumbled into his sweater, "It was an overreaction, I think." She started to get the feeling back in her knees and finally decided to give him some air. They both pulled away slowly and looked at each other, getting lost in their eyes.

It was a moment or two before Draco spoke. "Do you want to go back? It's getting pretty cold out."

Alyssa shrugged her shoulders, not even having noticed how the weather had changed in the short time they were outside. She looked up at the cloudy sky that blocked the moon, causing the only light to be coming from the street lamps. Finally she nodded and they walked back towards Harry's house. They were in a comfortable silence the entire way back, the only sound being the clicking of their shoes on the sidewalk.

Once they reached Harry's front porch, Alyssa ascended the front steps but Draco reached out to stop her.

"I think I'm going to head back to the Manor; it's been a madhouse and I'm finally able to finish renovations now." He smiled at her and she was reminded of how the place still wasn't fixed up when she and Ginny had gone back. "Actually, I'll be quite busy for a while," He continued to say, and he looked at her with his silver eyes gleaming. "But I want to see you… would you like to come to dinner with me tomorrow night?"

Alyssa bit her lip and smiled at him, "Duh. I mean – yes – of course I would." She stuttered, and mentally slapped herself again. Why did he always have the power to make her feel as if she were soaring? He smiled again at her reaction and nodded his head.

"Come to the Manor around six." She nodded. "Good, I'll see you tomorrow, Alyssa."

"Goodnight, Draco." She watched as his lips tightened to form another smile and he turned to leave. Her eyes didn't leave him - as he walked back down the sidewalk towards the alley where he could apparate away – until he was out of sight. Alyssa lowered her eyes and smiled to herself, she felt as if she was in a dream. She turned around and walked inside, not surprised to find everyone in the kitchen talking, while having coffee and dessert. Without bothering to say anything to them, she made her way to the living room and flopped down onto the couch as if she were floating. It wasn't until Ron spoke up that she was brought back to Earth.

"What was that all about, then?"

Alyssa could hear Hermione smack his hand, "Oh, hush. It's none of your business." She snapped. "Did you two have a good chat?" She asked instead.

"Yes," was all Alyssa could reply. "Yes… I think I'm gonna go to bed, though. It's been… quite the day." She stood up from the couch, and ignoring the curious stares from the other four people, she went straight up to her room. As she lay in her bed, not even feeling a bit tired, she went over the days events. What had happened with Harry didn't even faze her; it was stupid to suddenly stress over what was going on between them just because Hermione found it appropriate to voice her opinions so much. She and Harry were best friends, and they would always be that way. But seeing Draco again - actually _seeing_ him – was completely indescribable. She couldn't put together words that expressed the way she was feeling – the mixture of emotions that were running through her. It was as if seeing a ghost. The only thing that made her want to sleep was that it would mean being closer to seeing him again for dinner, and possibly dreaming about what had happened… And the next day she would figure out where he'd been… how he'd been… and why he lost so much damn weight.

The next morning, Alyssa was abruptly awoken by Harry who was violently shaking her to get her up.

"What the hell is going on?" She demanded as her eyes cracked open.

Harry merely smiled at her, "Brad's downstairs, and he demands you come down at once." When she tried to shove him away he only laughed at her and straightened up, "He has some news, and I'm pretty sure you'll want to hear it." She paused in her ministrations and looked at him trying to figure out what this 'news' could have possibly been.

"All right, I'll come down. Just let me brush my teeth, for God's sake." Harry laughed again and left her room and she could hear him thumping back downstairs. There was chatter that traveled into her own room and she briefly wondered why no one was ever working these days. She threw the covers off of her and went to the bathroom to quickly brush her teeth. She didn't even bother changing out of her pajamas and headed downstairs.

"So what's all the fuss about?" Alyssa asked before she even got all the way down the stairs. She was immediately enveloped in a hug and was completely taken aback. She looked up to see Brad's smiling face staring down at her. "This better be important that you're waking me up at…" She looked over at the clock and her eyes bulged out of her skull. "Nine in the morning?! What's wrong with you?"

"It's really not that early, Alyssa." Harry commented. And looking further around she realized that Harry along with Hermione, Ron and Luna were still all there.

"Don't you people have jobs?"

Brad smiled again and took her hand in his, "I wanted to tell everyone, but especially you. I wanted to tell you this in person."

"Tell me what?" She snapped impatiently.

He began to laugh like a little school girl before he said, "It's Elizabeth… she's pregnant!"

There was a pause and then..."She's WHAT?!"

* * *

**A/N: **Thank you all soooooo much for the awesome reviews! They really are encouraging to keep posting out new chapters as quickly as possible, and I appreciate it so much. I hope you enjoy the chapter! 


	6. Chapter 6

"_It's Elizabeth… she's pregnant!"_

"_She's WHAT?!"_

"She's pregnant, Alyssa," Brad said again, "We're going to have a baby!"

Alyssa blinked; she wasn't sure how to take in this new information. Part of her wanted to jump for joy and congratulate him and be happy that she was going to be a new aunt… but the other side sort of felt weird that her own brother, who had barely been able to ever hold a girl down, and who just got married, was now doing… _that_ enough to get someone pregnant. However, that part seemed to die out soon enough and she got a rush of excitement of the fact that she was going to soon be called 'Aunt Alyssa'.

She blinked one more time and suddenly jumped in the air, "Oh my God! Congratulations!" Her reaction seemed to hype Brad up even more and he grabbed her into a fierce hug. "When did this happen?"

"Well, Liz is three weeks in; she wasn't sure if she was really pregnant so she wanted to wait it out for a little bit then go to the doctor's."

"So this is why you didn't come for the wedding?"

Brad nodded energetically, "Yeah, sorry about that. But she insisted on going to her parent's once we found out." He looked around the room and lowered his voice, "Do you want to go to breakfast or something? There's something else I want to talk to you about."

Alyssa furrowed her brows before nodding, "Yeah, sure. Just let me get dressed."

"So, does Mom know about this?" Alyssa asked forty-five minutes later. They were seated in a small diner in a Muggle town, so even if someone was eavesdropping, they would have no idea what they were talking about.

Brad nodded as he took a sip from his coffee. "Yeah, that's actually the 'something else' I wanted to talk to you about." Alyssa rolled her eyes and braced herself for the drastic news that was about to come. "With a baby coming, she sort of wanted to get us all together for a reunion sort of thing. She hasn't seen you since you first left school, I've seen her every now and then, so she thinks it's time for it."

"Yeah, well that's completely out of the question," Alyssa said. She grabbed a piece of toast and began to butter it and just as Brad tried to interrupt, she continued. "She doesn't support me, or anything I stand for."

"That's not true." Brad said shaking his head.

"Oh, really?" Alyssa raised her knife in the air and gestured with it as she spoke, "I might've forgotten to mention a lengthy letter she sent me before I came back here. She had a fucking field day going on about how it's a bad 'life decision' to give myself such subtle distress. She doesn't want me near anyone I went to school with and that especially included a certain _blonde_ family."

"That's right! Draco's back, I read all about it in the -" but he trailed off at the glare he was receiving from his younger sister. "Right – well, anyway. That's not the point. You can't distance yourself from her forever; we've already got a dad that went to shit, we can't have _no_ parents."

Alyssa shook her head, "We've been practically on our own anyway; I don't think it'll be much difference." They thanked the waiter as he brought them their food and Alyssa shrugged. "Why does she always seem to want to see me when it's the most inconvenient?"

Brad shrugged, "You know how she gets. She's probably bored now 'cause she's not working as much with the war over and all. Actually, speaking of the war ending, how's Draco doing? I know you saw him because of that fantastic picture in the paper. I must say," He said with a laugh, "it was quite attractive."

"I was taken off guard," Alyssa snapped trying to sound offended and rolled her eyes. "And he's all right… I guess. I haven't seen much of him. He came to dinner with us last night and we're going to dinner later."

"Dinner later?" Brad asked, sounding interested. "Just the two of you, you mean."

She rolled her eyes again, "Yes, the two of us. I was just gonna sleep the entire afternoon so I wouldn't have to wait so long, but I was rudely woken up at the crack of dawn."

"Pure exaggeration." Brad scoffed, "Besides, it's not like I came to tell you that… I got a new haircut or something. This is big stuff… Fuck, I'm gonna be a Dad."

Alyssa smiled at her big brother, "That's right… you know, I never thought I'd see the day – well, maybe eventually. But I thought I'd be the first one to get hitched and get pregnant."

"Surprising myself even," Brad said.

They spent the rest of breakfast with casual chatter. The subject of visiting their mom wasn't exactly resolved; Alyssa said she'd think about it and Brad said he'd write her in a week to get her answer. He, of course, had to split before she felt like he'd even really settled in. The wife was calling, most likely. Alyssa went back to Harry's house; everyone had actually gone back to work. It was the first time she was in the house alone – totally alone. Half of her wanted to throw herself a party, go crazy and watch what she wanted on the television and cook something crazy. But the other half just wanted to go back to sleep and hopefully not wake up till she was heading over to Draco's Manor. Without having much of a fight in her hand, Alyssa dragged herself back up to her bedroom and threw herself back on the bed, followed almost immediately by a deep, deep sleep.

Later when she woke up again, Alyssa was glad to see that it was three in the afternoon. The house, she could tell by the silence, was still empty. She sat up and cracked her back before getting back out of bed. She padded over to the closet and stood in front of it; if she thought last night was difficult getting dressed, she had another thing coming. Draco had failed to specify if this was a 'fancy' evening or not, which made it that much more difficult to figure out what to wear. Either way, Alyssa knew she didn't want to get _too_ dressed up, but she didn't want to be too casual either.

Instead of trying to focus too much on clothes, she tried to think of what she'd wear with her outfit. Shoe-wise, Alyssa always needed height when compared to Draco – but once again, she couldn't wear just any pair of dazzling heels incase it really wasn't a dressy event. She could've worn her usual boots, but that meant she'd have to wear pants or something long sleeved so she wouldn't look too sexy, which also meant she would then be limited. _Scratch the boots_, she thought to herself. After sorting through the amount of shoes she had, Alyssa picked out a plain pair of black, two-inch heels. They had straps around the toes but not the ankle so it was kind of like a flip-flop style; not too dressy, and not too casual.

Now, with the shoes decided on, Alyssa moved back to the clothes. It was always getting chilly at night so she would have to wear a sweater or jacket with what she was wearing anyway. She looked over at the jackets she had and realized that her old jeans jacket would look nice with anything, and it left her to pick out something that was sort of fancy because then the jacket could just even it out; so she grabbed the jacket and threw it on the bed. After about another ten to fifteen minutes, she finally decided what she was going to wear. She pulled out a thin, black dress that she had worn before a bunch of times; it was tight around her chest but loose all the way to the bottom hem that reached her knees. It was casual enough, and that, with the jacket and heels would round out everything about the outfit.

Feeling much happier than she did before, Alyssa laid her outfit out on the bed and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

Harry finally got back home by the time Alyssa was getting ready to leave. He shouted up a greeting at her as he stepped into the house and realized she was upstairs. Alyssa went to the top of the stairs to see him.

"Hey, how was work?" she asked.

He looked gloomy in the dim lighting. "It wasn't that great," he said, and he took off his jacket. "There's been some recent attacks on Muggles that the Ministry has been worrying about. There have been unknown causes of death which usually points to something with magic."

Alyssa frowned as she descended the stairs, "Do you think it could have something to do with Death Eaters? Well – wannabe's, anyway."

"Like a revolt?" he asked, she nodded. "Yeah, there've been spots here and there where we think there's a bit of a rise up. But this is more consistent, like, whoever is doing it wants to make a name for themselves."

"Well," Alyssa said, heaving a sigh, "At least we've got the best Auror on the case, we can't be in that much danger." Although seeming upset, this seemed to brighten up Harry's mood and his frown turned to a sheepish grin.

"Enough about work," He said suddenly, "How was your day here, do anything interesting?" Harry walked further into the house and towards the kitchen and Alyssa followed suit.

"Not really," She said with a shrug, "I went back to sleep after Brad took me to breakfast and woke up around three." Harry looked over at her and cocked an amused eyebrow. "I couldn't help it; I wanted to sleep all afternoon."

Harry chuckled and opened the fridge to look for a drink. "I can see why; I see you're all ready for your date?"

Alyssa smiled and nodded excitedly, "Yep, I have to go to his Manor soon."

"His Manor…" Harry said half in thought. "Has he fixed the place up yet?"

She shrugged again, "You probably know more than I do; you're the one who works with him and doesn't make a fool of yourself every time he comes around." She started to ramble, but at his startled look, settled down. "But I guess I'll be finding out soon enough."

Alyssa looked up at the clock and realized it was time to get going. She said goodbye to Harry, went back upstairs to grab her jacket, and left the house. On her way down the street of Harry's neighborhood, the only thing going through her mind was to keep calm, be talkative, and don't get emotional. She hadn't expected to spill the beans so quickly in front of Draco; but he always had the power to do that to her. With a sharp intake of breath, she apparated away.

It was nearly pitch black outside save for the stars, so the Manor looked just as menacing. The only difference tonight was that every light was on, and noises could be heard from inside. Alyssa took deep, steady breaths as she approached the gate, which opened as she neared; she paused for only a second wondering if Draco had done that on purpose. She continued on, making her way up the path and towards the front door. With one last deep breath, Alyssa grasped the knocker in her fist and knocked.

There was loud clanking from the inside, the sounds of shouting voices and suddenly, "Come in!"

Slightly hesitant, Alyssa stepped inside. This must've been the renovations Draco was talking about; there were workers everywhere, breaking down old pillars, walls and chandeliers and rebuilding new ones. From down the hallway, Alyssa could see Draco pop his blonde head around the corner and smile brightly. He tried shouting her name, but over the noise it was nearly impossible so he sighed and gestured for her to come to him.

Once they were in silence, he smiled at her again. "You look brilliant." He said, and bent over to pull her into a hug.

She was taken aback by his sudden cheeriness; she could hardly ever remember him being so perky. "Has it been like this?" She asked looking around.

Draco nodded, "Ever since I've been back, yeah."

"Sounds like a blast." Alyssa said sarcastically. Draco smirked and jutted his head to the side gesturing for them to continue down the hall. Alyssa found herself being familiarized with her surroundings; they were headed to the kitchen.

"Would you like a drink?" He asked.

"Yeah, sure." Draco nodded and reached above his shoulders to a cabinet filled with glasses. His foot kicked a box on the side of the table and something shook inside, and before she knew it, Alyssa could hear the padding of running feet. She looked to her left as something barked at her and before she could even blink a German Shepherd half her size pounced onto her and tackled her to the ground.

"OY! Pete!" Draco shouted, "Get off her! He's real friendly, I promise." And just as he said so, the dog cocked its head and ran his tongue across her face.

"Wow," Alyssa murmured as she lay motionless on the ground. The dog had shocked the hell out of her.

"Pete!" He shouted again, "What did I say?" The dog looked over at his owner and whined quietly before stepping off of Alyssa and backing away. Draco reached out with his hand to help her up, "Are you okay? Sorry I forgot to mention that; he gets really excited when there's a new person in the house."

Alyssa grabbed his hand and stood up adjusting her skirt which fell higher than would be appropriate. "Yea, no – I'm fine. Just a bit… shocked that you have a dog." And suddenly she remembered – the dog barking from when she had snuck into the Manor with Ginny; Draco must have been in the house with 'Pete' the same time they were there.

He grinned at her and shrugged slightly, "Yeah, I thought I hated them." He agreed, "But not you, right, Pete?" Draco looked over at the dog smiling and Pete barked. "Never mind that, take this and I'm going to get my coat." He handed her the drink and strode away.

Alyssa took a sip and looked at Pete who still had his head cocked at her. "So you've been living with Draco, eh?" She looked around the room as if checking to see if anyone was listening, "Well, three guesses as to who's really jealous of you." She chuckled and jutted her thumb at herself.

Pete barked again and Alyssa could've sworn he was smiling – if dogs could smile, that is. Not even five minutes had passed before Draco was striding back into the kitchen with his coat on. It was now that Alyssa actually let her eyes roam over his body and what he was wearing; black trousers with a matching coat, and a plum colored button up shirt – which surprisingly enough – looked amazing on him. "Ready to go?" He asked and Alyssa nodded in agreement.

Draco had decided on taking her to a restaurant in Hogsmeade. Once again, it was a busy place, so people who still insisted on following him around wouldn't even take notice of them. The only one who did was the hostess who squeaked at him when he asked for a table and whose eyes shot wide open. She quickly seated them and Alyssa couldn't help but laugh.

"That charm of yours will help us out," she said smiling, "It'll be the right ticket in."

Draco shook his head but couldn't help but smirk, "It'll never get old," he mused. They fell into silence as they looked over at their menus, but throughout the evening, Alyssa was ecstatic at how well their conversation flowed. Alcohol was doing its duty, as always, and helped her loosen up a bit so she wouldn't get nervous and fumble around. But it wasn't until halfway through their meals that their conversation took a more serious turn; Alyssa could tell by the way Draco wiped his mouth with his napkin and leaned in as if he was going to speak more quietly.

"I know there are some questions you want to ask me, now that I'm back." He started, "There's things I want to ask you, too, but -"

"But I'm not the one who was supposed to be dead." She said quite matter-of-factly.

Draco's lip twitched to the side and he cocked his head, "Exactly."

Alyssa sighed and took a sip of her wine before sitting up straight and leaning forward as well. "So this is like my free interview?" She asked amusedly, Draco nodded and she sighed again thinking of where to start. "Well, the most obvious I guess: where have you been all this time?"

He leaned back again and his brows furrowed, as if ranking through his mind about the past few months. "Mostly France," He finally said. "In the beginning I went through Scotland, but it wouldn't have been possible for me to go buy unnoticed. I stopped to see my mother, to make sure that she knew I wasn't dead. I don't think she would've lasted long if she thought that the only two men in her life were both dead.

Alyssa blinked and nodded, slightly wondering if he was at all close to her while she was staying with Oliver, and also why he hadn't paid her the same courtesy. "So you just went there briefly, just to tell her that."

"Yes," Draco said nodding. "And after that, I went through Italy. I stayed there for a bit and only had to leave because my cover was blown. I only went through the magical areas to send messages to Potter; and one of the few times I did that, someone recognized me. I had to take that part of their memory out of their head, because if word got out that I was alive, people would've been poking around looking for me." He rolled his eyes as if disgusted by that. "But either way, I left after that and went to France; and that's where I've been."

At this part, Alyssa felt a somewhat familiar feeling pass through her as she remembered the brief time she had been there for school. "Did you enjoy it there?" She asked interestedly.

A brief smile touched his lips as he nodded, "It's a beautiful country. I learned to speak French so I could communicate with the Muggle's in town. The food was delicious, and everyone knows about the wine." He mused.

Alyssa rolled her eyes and laughed as she took a sip of her _own_ wine. "So then why did you decide to come back now?"

Draco's smile suddenly faded and he looked seriously at her. "I would've thought it was obvious…" He said, and suddenly Alyssa began to feel a bit foolish. "Through my communication with Harry, I found out that you were coming back for Ginny's wedding. I already knew that they would be getting married before I left, the number of Death Eaters had made a steady decline, so I thought the timing couldn't have been more appropriate." She nodded in agreement and subconsciously licked her lips. "Have I answered all of your questions?" He then asked, playfully.

"Just about," Alyssa said, clearing her throat and getting back on topic. "I just _have_ to ask… How did you lose _all_ that weight?" Draco started to laugh and sent Alyssa the chills; she had missed the sound of his laugh. "I'm serious! You look practically malnourished."

He shook his head, clearly amused and sighed. "I should've expected you to notice that." He shook his head again before continuing. "Well, when I was first traveling around I really couldn't go out that much. Hype was still circling about my death, so I stayed inside and would only go out if it was for a desperate circumstance, which apparently was if I was starving or not." Alyssa could see in his eyes that he was thinking of the more unpleasant times. "That, and my injury kept me down; I wouldn't have been able to go out anyway just because I was hurt so badly, so I'd stay put and rest and try to take care of myself the best I could. It wasn't until I got better that I could actually go out, so I guess you could say the weight sort of… fell right off."

Alyssa rolled her eyes and shook her head, "People would kill you for that ability, you know that?"

"Oh, I'm fully aware." He said looking threatened. "But what about you, you're looking pretty trim yourself,"

She laughed and nodded, "Pure muscle," She gloated, then shook her head, "I had to get into good shape for all that dragon work; I'm in my prime." They both smirked at each other, and simultaneously licked their lips. Alyssa looked away trying to prevent the flush she could feel rising to her cheeks.

They finished their dinner and had the table cleared and ordered their dessert. "But now," Draco said dramatically, "I must ask you about your life."

"What would you like to know?" She asked nervously, although she had a pretty good idea of what he was going to ask her.

"Have you been seeing anyone?" He asked without hesitation; she quirked her lips a bit and avoided eye contact making him smile, "Ah that must mean yes."

"Not really," Alyssa said shifting uncomfortably, "It's complicated… sort of. I kind of just ended it with him." It felt extremely weird talking about other men with Draco.

"Complicated, really?" He said. They both leaned back as their dessert was brought to the table and leaned back in as the waiter walked away. "Who was it?"

Alyssa smiled against her will, knowing that Draco definitely knew him from school. "Oliver Wood."

To her surprise Draco started to laugh, "You really aim high, don't you?" He said pretty matter-of-factly.

Alyssa's jaw dropped, "I do not!" She rolled her eyes and shook her head as she started to laugh. "I don't like this question, what about you, have you seen anyone?"

Draco shrugged nonchalantly, typical male response to a question like that. "Only one, really. But she…" He looked her in the eyes as he spoke which was a tad unnerving, "She wasn't what I wanted."

"I know exactly what you mean," She agreed.

After they finished dessert, Draco paid for the both of them; they put their coats back on in silence and walked outside. It was around nine o'clock; Alyssa hadn't really been paying attention to the time, and it was still crowded outside. She was really glad she was back now because when she was at Hogwarts she hadn't been able to see much of the village, but now she was going everywhere with the 'gang'. She and Draco walked down the sidewalk, hardly being noticed by anyone. It was a weird conversation that they had earlier – about seeing other people. It was strange how she had actually thought she could ever be with someone else; not to mention, if she saw him with another woman she'd probably lose it. But it was mostly the way they spoke; it was like they both knew that the feelings were still there, but the 'flame' had to be rekindled. Alyssa sighed in the chilly air and slumped her shoulders, and suddenly she felt the familiar tugging on her hand and turned to look up into Draco's eyes.

It was as if time itself slowed down and everyone else around them disappeared. Alyssa could see nothing else, hear nothing else, or even smell; all that registered in her head was that Draco was standing right in front of her, staring down at her and holding her hand in his. And even more sudden then even taking her hand, he was kissing her. It was familiar but like nothing she'd felt before all at the same time. When their lips first touched, they paused as if expecting a huge change; but even though it had been so long since they last kissed, it felt familiar, it felt comfortable, it felt_right_.

In all the numbness she felt, Alyssa brought her hands up to grip his shoulders – which even though were still as broad, they were skinnier than she remembered. Draco moved again, brushing his lips over hers and kissing her and getting back that feeling inside of him that he had missed so much.

They broke apart slowly but stayed in the same position for who knew how long. It wasn't until someone physically bumped into them that they blinked and broke eye contact.

"I'll take you back home," Draco said softly. Alyssa couldn't do anything but nod and they walked down the street until they apparated back to Harry's neighborhood. When she walked through the front door and shut it, she wasn't surprised to see everyone was back again in Harry's kitchen eating a late dinner. They all looked up at her in surprise and she waved slightly before heading upstairs to change. It was as if, once again, she were in a dream state. She was confused and ecstatic all at the same time, and everything passed by her in blurs as she changed. There was a soft knock at the door and Alyssa turned to see Hermione smiling at her from the doorway.

"Have a good night?" She asked. Alyssa nodded as she pulled a sweatshirt on over her head. "We're surprised to see you back already."

"What do you mean?"

Hermione chuckled softly before saying, "Well we figured you two would get carried away and you'd be back at his place."

Alyssa laughed and shook her head, practically wishing that that's where she was right now. "I know, right?" She said instead, "It's weird… because we both know we love each other, but for some reason there's a certain hesitancy. It's like – we're kids… we're both shy and afraid to make that first move."

Hermione smiled and nodded in agreement, "Yeah, well, I'm sure it won't be too long before then." Alyssa couldn't agree more and only hoped that it would happen sooner, rather than later.

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**A/N: **Once again, thanks sooooo much for all the reviews! You have no idea how much i appreciate them! Unfortunately, the next chapter probably won't be out as quickly because i'll be away for the next week, but as soon as i get back i'll get right to it! But once again thanks, and as usual - enjoy! 


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **First off sorrrrrrrrrrry for taking an obnoxiously long time to update! I was away for a bit and then when I got back my internet was GONE. I tried getting this out as soon as possible so I hope you enjoy it! Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing! I love reading every one of them...

so enjoy!

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Her heart beat was wild in her chest, possibly to the beat of her feet pounding on the solid ground. For once, during this jog, Alyssa felt whimsical. Perhaps it was because of the strange presence of happiness inside her when she woke up that morning; all she knew was that she couldn't even wait for Harry to get home later that day for lunch for their usual run. The wind felt more cooling, more soothing than ever; and she was pretty sure she knew why. The kiss last night… the only word she found to describe it was 'different'. Draco's lips felt extremely familiar, but it was the _way_ they kissed, the emotion that was behind just the movements of her lips against his; it was like nothing she had ever felt before, nothing like their moments back at school.

Alyssa flew around the corner that would bring her back up to Harry's house. She had to fall into the street to avoid the flocks of children that were taking over and they watched as she passed by. Once she reached the front lawn she fell gracefully onto the ground and soaked in the rays from the sun. Her chest heaved up and down as her breath slowed to its normal pace. She was practically _aching_ to see Draco again; she had nearly wet herself when Harry had invited her to the office to help him out with work. He had noticed she would be bored with the day's events – what with everyone being at work - and dealing with the sudden overload of paperwork because of these new 'wannabe Death Eaters,' he was more than eager to have her help. For Alyssa, this meant a chance to see Draco once again.

Harry was coming to get her when he came home for lunch which gave her two hours to shower and get ready. Smiling to herself, Alyssa hopped up and practically skipped back into the house. She went up the stairs, two at a time, and entered her room heading straight for the closet. She had already picked out what she was wearing; something sophisticated and appropriate enough to be in a professional situation, but also slightly casual so that people would vaguely remember she had nothing to do with the Ministry. She threw the clothes – a dark grey, pinstriped, knee-length skirt that was pleated on the hem and a white, thin, long-sleeved cotton shirt - onto her bed before heading back to the bathroom and getting in the shower.

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"Well, Alyssa, I really must thank you for helping me out with this." Harry said three hours later.

Alyssa waved a dismissive hand, "It's fine, Harry, what else better do I have to do?" She crossed and uncrossed her legs as she sorted through a manila envelope of papers. "Since the war is this _all_ you do? Go through paperwork?"

Harry shook his head half-mindedly and brought his quill down to sign his name on a few search warrants. "Not really; I've mostly been training new recruits. Before I became the Head of things they figured I'd done so much that I could just sit back and relax for a bit. But now that there's a stir of excitement…"

"You're needed once again." Alyssa finished. She stood up from her seat and moved towards the file cabinet where she put the folder in neatly. Being that she wasn't actually an Auror, it was technically against the rules for Harry to have Alyssa help him out like this; but being the 'Head of things,' as it were, Harry was able to pull some strings. It didn't matter much anyway because she was mostly making things organized, filing papers, that sort of thing. She moved back to stand in front of Harry's desk and began collecting a new section of papers when someone at the door knocked. She paused, mid-grab, already sensing the warmth of familiarity setting in.

She didn't turn as Harry said "Come in." and the door opened.

"Potter," Draco greeted, he moved to take a step into the office but stopped at seeing Alyssa's form. Her eyes barely looked over her shoulder to see him take her in. She watched innocently as his eyes moved from her three-inch black heels, up the length of her bare calves, to the curve the skirt showed of her hips and bum, leading to her small waist and finally landing on her exposed neck. Chills crawled up her spine.

"What's up, Draco?" Harry asked, not noticing the slight confrontation taking place in the room. Alyssa finally turned around to face him and smiled muttering a 'hello'.

Blinking, Draco forced himself to look away from her and he nodded at Harry. It was obvious he had lost his entire train of thought.

"Actually, now that you're here…" He muttered quickly instead, "Could I have a word?" Draco asked her; Alyssa's brows lifted in surprise and she shot a look at Harry who rolled his eyes. Draco jutted his head to the door and she stepped outside with him not knowing what he wanted to talk to her about.

"Sorry, but this would be easier than having to get an owl out," he mumbled.

"What's up?" She asked, trying to sound as normal as possible.

He looked around his shoulders as people passed by and lowered his head, ready to speak in a low tone. "Would you like to come by my place later for dinner?" He asked softly. "The workers are finally out of the place so it's actually quite peaceful, and I swear Pete won't attack you again."

Alyssa smiled at him acting like he actually had to _convince_ her to see him later. "You're gonna cook me dinner?" She asked lightly.

"Well, yeah," He said smirking, "I'm a rather good cook, I must say."

"I'd love to." She said quickly. They smiled at each other again before he said, "Come by 'round seven?" She nodded and he let out a small breath of air as if relieved at her answer. They looked at each other goofily for a few more seconds before they remembered they were in a said 'professional situation' and clumsily walked back into Harry's office. She took her seat back in front of Harry's desk and resumed her work grabbing another manila envelope. Draco straightened his back and walked to Harry's side before asking for the warrants Harry had just been signing.

"You're taking up the investigation, then?" Harry asked curiously.

Alyssa tried hard to act like she wasn't focusing all of her attention on Draco. "Getting right back to it," he was saying. She watched him as he spoke and took in the difference of his demeanor; he once again seemed much happier than she could remember seeing, even in his body movements. There was a slight tint in his eyes that brightened his expression and a tilt to his lips as he spoke.

Shaking her head, Alyssa averted her attention back to the papers she was filing. Once she finished with the organization, she stood and crossed the room back to the cabinet. Her left shoulder brushed Draco's back as she passed by and both of them – for a split second – stopped as their breath hitched in their throats. Alyssa shook her head clear again, nearly stumbling over her own steps and put the file away before taking back her seat.

"Just take it easy, mate." Harry said slowly. He was now looking up at Draco while leaning back in his seat and had his hand raised as if to remind Draco that he was still recovering from an injury.

Draco shook his head impatiently, "Honestly, Potter, you're just as annoying as those bloody doctors. This is an _investigation_, that's hardly anything to worry about."

Harry rolled his eyes again and turned back to his desk, "Then don't come crying to me if you come back bleeding half to death."

"Now really, that's just uncalled for." Draco mumbled trying to sound offended. He took the warrants from Harry's outstretched hand and saluted a farewell. He turned, heading for the door, and as he passed by Alyssa he ran his hand up her arm and gripped her shoulder. Alyssa looked over her shoulder only to see the door close behind him.

She turned back to her work but found she was unable to concentrate from the feeling of eyes boring into her. She looked up to see Harry's penetrating gaze.

"What?" She asked somewhat impatiently.

He merely smirked at her, "Another date tonight?" Alyssa shrugged at him.

"What are you doing tonight?" She asked instead.

"As a matter of fact," He said leaning back to stretch, "I've also got myself a date."

Alyssa blinked, her jaw falling slightly opened and snapped her envelope shut, her attention now completely diverted. "You what?" She asked astonished, "With who?"

Harry rolled his eyes and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his desk. "Don't worry about it," He mumbled quickly, "I'll let you know if it actually turns into something."

She scoffed and opened the envelope back up while shaking her head. "Right, and what else would you like to know about _my_ date tonight, then?" She asked sarcastically. It always had bothered her when people thought that they could delve into her relationships, but once it came to be their turn they were suddenly shy and modest about it. She crossed her right leg over her left and tapped her foot impatiently.

"There's no need to." Harry said, however. "You two have enough energy radiating off you when you're just in the same room with each other; I don't need to hear descriptive details."

Alyssa rolled her eyes in reply not needing to be told _that_ twice. But her entire train of thought was lost as she was sorting through her papers. She came across a page which was a discussion of her old schoolmate Pansy Parkinson. She frowned down at the reports and looked up at Harry curiously.

"Pansy's a Death Eater?"

"So it would seem," Harry said without looking up at her. "You knew how Pansy was – very easy to manipulate. It doesn't surprise me that she's one of them. Though I hope she's improved on her fighting skills." Alyssa snorted loudly remembering the day she had broken Pansy's nose.

* * *

It was only with the feeling of pure satisfaction that Alyssa came home with Harry in the early evening. Not only had she not been bored in the house all day, she helped Harry get a lot of work done, and – obviously the main point she'd helped him in the first place – she'd seen Draco and they had a date planned for later that night. The only slight frustration that she seemed to feel was about Harry's date. Why hadn't he told her who it was? And who could he even be seeing anyway? The only times he was out and not working was when he was with 'the gang' and it obviously couldn't have been any one of them. It had to have been someone from work; that seemed to be the only time he'd be otherwise social.

But there were other things that were more important on her mind. Her thoughts kept flashing back to when she had seen Draco in Harry's office. It was hard to think of anything else. Harry was right; energy _was_ radiating off them. She could feel it as Draco opened the door, and the warming sensation it gave her was still wearing off.

As soon as she and Harry arrived at his house, she practically ran up the stairs to pick out an outfit for later that night. Assuming that it could only be more casual then their last date, since they weren't going out, she changed into a black blouse and jeans with her boots. She looked up at the clock and was glad that she and Harry had taken their time at the office, for now she only had an hour and a half to wait till she would leave for the Manor. After she was done getting ready she headed back downstairs and could hear Harry in the shower. She flopped onto the couch with a piece of parchment, already planning that with the time she had to wait, she would write a letter to Brad. She nibbled on the end of her quill for a moment, thinking of what to write, before leaning forward onto the coffee table and scribbling away.

_Hey Brad,_

_Hope all is well in Romania, how is Elizabeth coming along? Everything is fine here; I just got back from the Ministry with Harry, actually. He needed help with some paperwork and thought I should tag along since I've nothing better to do – which is actually why I'm writing to you. I wonder if you've heard anything about these new rise ups of Death Eaters. Harry says it's nothing too serious, but there've been recent attacks on Muggles, and whether it's serious or not, whoever's doing this is keeping the Ministry on its toes. But let's say it was something serious… do you think we'd have to fight again? I can't say much because I missed the last one, but I'm sure that's what everyone here is thinking of. _

Alyssa paused, nibbling the quill again and wondering if she should continue. She mentally shook her head and changed routes.

_Anyway, I was just wondering if you'd heard anything. But enough of that; I was thinking about your visit and failed attempt at trying to get me to visit Mom. I think instead maybe I should visit all of you in Romania? Things are strangely falling into place here, if you catch my drift, and I can't exactly see an end to this trip in the near future. But I'm missing everyone loads and I'd love to see them. So see what they think about that, will you?_

_I love you, and miss you. Even if I don't come out to Romania, you know I'd appreciate it if you would at least come by again. The last visit was too short._

_Alyssa_

She looked over the letter before nodding and put into an envelope. She wrote Brad's name on it and left it on the kitchen counter so she could send it later. Now, with still a bit of time left to spare, she leaned back on the couch and turned on the television. She left it on a random comedy show just so it would pass the time quickly.

As soon as she had herself relaxed, Harry popped his head out of his bedroom door; his hair hung wet in his face. "You still here?" He asked curiously. He squinted his eyes as he looked across the room at the clock. "Hm, I didn't think you could wait so long." He teased.

"That's real funny, Harry." Alyssa said monotonously. Her eyes never left the television screen. "Shouldn't you be leaving soon as well?" She asked, remembering he had a date to get to as well.

His head disappeared for a moment, before his whole body reappeared walking through the door and shrugging a shirt on. "Yeah, I'm just about to leave." He mumbled. He walked into the kitchen and opened the door to the fridge. He stood, contemplating for a moment, but decided with a beer and shut the door. Alyssa stood over at the table and watched him take a few sips with a small smirk on her face. "Yes?" He said, his brows raised.

Alyssa broke her gaze to look at the table and traced small patterns on the countertop. "So should I be expecting you back tonight, or is Harry getting laid?" She asked with an innocent chuckle – but suddenly regretted that thought. Harry getting laid? Was that normal? Did Harry get laid? Did he have a sex life? Suddenly it was weird thinking of Harry having a sex life, and how if she went by a few rash suggestions, she would've been a part of that. She shivered at the thought but brought her eyes back to look at him.

He grinned as if she was making some sort of a joke and instead asked, "I could ask the same of you… although I'm sure you have a bigger chance of staying out the night than I do." He looked at her slyly over his bottle of beer as he took another sip.

"Touché," She responded simply instead of answering the question. "I guess I'm not getting any hints to who this mystery woman is, then?" She asked.

"Not a word," He said shaking his head. "I told you it's nothing to twist your head around. It's just a simple dinner outing."

As if that were a cue, Alyssa looked up at the clock noticing she should get going. "Well, you can tell me all about it when you get back tonight." She said confidently. He looked at her smirking.

"Assuming that you come back, of course."

"Of course." Alyssa replied smiling. She walked to the front door and down the street to the alley where she apparated away.

* * *

"God, it smells delicious in here." Alyssa commented looking around the Manor. She turned to look at Draco as he shut the door behind her and smiled and she took the moment to take in what he was wearing. He had on dark jeans that seemed to hang dangerously loose on his hips and a black sweater that clung to the muscles of his chest; they seemed to match, she thought. He opened his mouth to say something but rolled his eyes as his dog, Pete, came bounding down the stairs barking loudly.

"He must like you; he usually doesn't act this way." Draco said softly, he scratched Pete behind the ears as he came to his side, "He's probably just hungry." He straightened up to his full height and for a moment, Alyssa had forgotten how tall he was. Just for a moment, though. "C'mon, let's grab a drink." He said.

Alyssa followed him into the Manor, and she was followed by Pete who trotted behind them with his tail wagging. The place was dimly lit and shadows leered everywhere; she wondered if he had done that to set the mood or something of the sort, but changed her mind once they got into the fully lit kitchen. Draco got them drinks and after being barked at by Pete, gave him a few treats as well.

"Where did you find him, anyway?" Alyssa asked as she observed Pete happily munching on his treat.

Draco smiled to himself as he looked over at Pete as well. "In France; he was a stray dog and would wander around where I was living. I could've sworn he was an Animagus, the way he would follow me around." He paused to walk over to the stove where he had three pots steaming; she inched over to take a look but he stopped her, mumbling, "It's a surprise." She rolled her eyes and he continued. "But after a while, and a few spells just incase, I started to feed him and he stuck around. Isn't that right, Pete?" He asked suddenly looking over at the dog, who barked loudly in reply. "See what I mean?"

Alyssa nodded as she sipped from her glass of wine. Ignoring Draco's warning of his surprise, she stood behind the stove next to him and without hesitating, wrapped her arm around his waist. She could tell this surprised him; for only a mere second his hands stilled their movements from messing around with whatever was in the pots.

"It smells delicious," She said softly, for the second time that evening. From her peripheral vision it looked as if he was smirking at her. She looked over only to see that she was right, and without taking time to think she stood on the tips of her toes and planted a full kiss on his lips. Draco was taken off guard, and Alyssa was pulling away before he could even close his eyes. But he didn't want it to end. Before she had gotten too far, he wound his arm tightly around her waist and pulled her back for another kiss. They both sighed at the pressure, savoring the moment that they had been looking forward to all day. Without much conscious decisions, Alyssa brought her hand to his face and moved her lips against his.

This seemed to strike a chord in Draco. He dropped the spoon he was handling to hold her neck and a soft moan escaped his lips. Alyssa clenched her eyes shut, trying her hardest to not freak out and completely lose control. She tightened the grip she had on his hip and finally opened her mouth under his… before the smell of something burning reached her nose.

They broke away instantly, both of them breathing heavily. Draco was calm as he took the lid off one pot and stirred its contents around with a wooden spoon. Alyssa took no notice to what he was doing, only realized that her hands were trembling as she raised her wine glass to his lips.

Draco chuckled softly then and she looked over curiously. "And what was _that_ for, may I ask?"

A nervous breath escaped her as she tried to laugh, "I'm not sure exactly; I missed you."

He looked over his shoulder at her, his blonde hair falling into his eyes. Alyssa's breath hitched in her throat. Her memories of how beautiful he was did him no justice. He grinned at her and said, "Here, try this."

He held the spoon in front of her which contained a thick, dark red substance. It was steaming lightly and she grasped his wrist as she put her mouth to the spoon. It tasted of cherries and red whine and her mouth watered for more as soon as she swallowed it down. And she couldn't help but notice Draco lick his lips as he waited for her reaction.

"It's delicious, Draco." She said enthusiastically. "What's it even for?"

"Don't worry about it," He said. His tone had changed. She couldn't name what the difference was, but she had a hint. She was almost positive she wasn't the only one who didn't want to wait till after dinner for what they both wanted.

And just like that, it was as if Draco read her mind. Just as she registered the spoon dropping to the floor and Pete dashing forward to lick it, Draco had her face in his hands and plastered his lips on hers. She gasped loudly and leaned back on the countertop to brace herself, elbowing her wine glass on the way. It clanked loudly on the counter, spilling its contents. She gasped again as the chilled liquid soaked through her blouse and was practically incoherent as Draco murmured an apology.

She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck holding his head in place and opened her mouth against his. Once their tongues met, everything was a blur. His hands roamed over her ribcage, pushing her against the table yet pulling her to his chest at the same time. She grabbed the back of his neck causing their kiss to deepen and she moaned at the sudden rush of excitement coursing through her. His hand moved down her rib cage, over her hip, and to the back of her knee where he pulled her leg up to hitch over his hip. Alyssa moaned again as she was lifted off her feet and was now only supported by the pressure of his body against hers.

They pulled apart suddenly, gasping for air. Draco didn't stop, though. His lips moved down the line of her jaw, to her neck, to her collar bone where he nipped slightly. Her breath hitched and she whimpered, her hand leaving his neck to tangle itself into his hair. She was barely able to comprehend what was going on, yet somehow the bottom of her blouse was unbuttoned and Draco's hand passed over her bare stomach and up her back.

Not needing to be told to do so, Draco muttered, "Hold on to me," and suddenly with a _pop _they were in a different room.

In the back of her mind, Alyssa wanted to look around because this was definitely _not_ the bedroom she remembered. But as Draco threw off his sweater leaving only a thin undershirt, she mentally smacked herself and let her eyes roam over the thin fabric that clung to every inch of his torso and shoulders. His hand cupped the side of her face and he looked into her eyes as he traced the outline of her lips with his thumb. He kissed her again, this time with possibly more emotion than with feverish want. With trembling hands she tried focusing on kissing him back, just as equally, while unbuttoning the rest of her blouse and dropping it to the floor. His hands moved over her bare skin now, trying to feel every nook and cranny he could find. Her breathing, once again, became erratic and she subconsciously felt herself moving backwards until the backs of her knees hit the edge of a very large bed.

She clumsily fell backwards and leaned forward again to begin undoing her shoes. Draco, who still stood above her, kicked his off lazily and pulled his belt out of the loops of his jeans. Alyssa's heart beat even faster and she began to fumble with her boots. She could hear Draco chuckle above her and he knelt down to help her. After what seemed like hours, both boots were finally discarded. Draco stood again and held the back of her neck forcing her to look up at him.

Alyssa bit her lip and took his hand from her neck to hold it on her own. She began to back up farther onto the bed, taking Draco's hand with her and forcing him to come down on top of her. She sighed heavily, bracing herself to feel all of his weight, but he carefully held himself up so that she felt none. Wanting to feel his skin against hers, her hands found the hem of his thin shirt and pulled it off him. It became another forgotten piece of clothing on the floor. Her hands felt his chest now. She could barely see a thing because of the dim light, but she could feel that he was still as defined as ever, if not more. She only paused as her fingers trailed over what felt like a thin, but long scratch; it was his scar. His breath hitched as she touched the sensitive part of his stomach, but she clenched his sides in her hand and kissed him encouragingly. This was not the time to fill her in.

Her trembling hands moved to his jeans. She tried pulling the button out of its loop but seemed to have trouble and he helped her, and soon the jeans were gone as well. Suddenly Draco rolled to the side, and she sought out his lips again trying to ignore pounding of her own heart. At the same time as kissing him, she undid her own pants, and with much effort, kicked her legs out of them. Alyssa now found herself on top of him as he hooked his arms around her waist. She could feel him hard against her now, his shape pressed against her inner thigh. One trailed up her back, finding the hook of her bra and flicking it opened, while the other ran down her waist, over her hips and between her thighs. She moaned loudly and uncontrollably as he pushed her panties aside and pressed his fingers against hers.

With a satisfied groan, Draco bit hard on her collar bone. Her mouth snapped shut; she couldn't breathe, could barely remember her name, and closed her eyes as he pumped his fingers in and out of her. With one hand he was able to pull the straps over her arms and remove the bra completely. He wound his hand back up her side and grabbed the back of her neck to pull her back to his mouth. She moaned as their tongues met and decided that she'd had enough. She wanted him _so_ badly, and needed him _now_.

Alyssa pulled away sharply and grabbed both of his wrists to push his hands away. She quickly discarded the tiny piece of clothing and Draco raised his hips as she pulled his boxers down. She threw a leg over his waist so she was straddling him, and nearly screamed _FINALLY_, as she lowered herself onto him. They both moaned loudly and Draco roughly grasped her hips; there would be bruises there. Alyssa tried hard to focus and rested her palms heavily on his shoulders as she rocked on top of him. She moaned his name and leaned forward causing her hair to form a curtain around her face. Draco removed his hands from her hips and ran his fingers through her hair before pulling her down to his chest where he could kiss her again. They could feel each other's teeth connect through the bruising kiss, but neither of them minded.

He rolled over once again, so he was now on top of her, and adjusted her legs around his waist. She gripped onto his biceps as he wound an arm around her waist and let his free hand hold the back of her head. He thrust hard into her. His lips pressed against her neck and he bit down thickly as he felt her muscles clench around him. They were both nearing their climax and she bit her lip to keep from screaming out. She clenched her eyes shut and gripped a handful of his hair, and with one long, deep thrust she came, calling out his name. Draco groaned, and she could feel the vibrations reverberate down his chest as he came right after.

Alyssa's heavy breathing became whimpers and they both stayed still as they took everything in. Draco raised his head from the side of her face to look into her eyes; the solid grey color was now back to its swirling mist of silver. The corners of his mouth uplifted to a small smile and she raised her head about an inch for their lips to meet once more.

* * *

"Hungry?" Draco asked sarcastically as Alyssa's stomach growled. Another hour and a half had passed, but they hadn't left the bedroom.

"Oh!" Alyssa started, "What if the kitchen is on fire?"

Draco laughed softly and ran a hand through his tangled hair. "For one thing, we definitely would've noticed if the kitchen was on fire. But I turned the stove up before we came up here."

"Huh." She replied. Of course a midget could've run around naked and smacked her in the butt at that time and she still wouldn't have noticed. "Do you want to eat, then?" Draco turned his head over his shoulder and looked at her as if it were obvious.

"I've sort of built up an appetite, yeah." He said, sarcasm once again dripping from his voice. Before he could even sit up, she dashed off the bed and threw on his boxers and sweater. He rolled his eyes at her, "Oh, I see how it is." She laughed as he grabbed his pants and skipped out of the bedroom. There was a large contrast of the light and she winced as her eyes got used to it. She ran down the hallway and only stopped when she realized something… she had no idea where she was.

"Having a bit of trouble?" Draco called down the hall. She looked over at him to see he was leaning against the wall in nothing but jeans. She almost regretted getting up for food but tried to get over it as her stomach grumbled again.

"Yes," She said walking back to him, "You've switched rooms." He laughed at her again and grasped her hand as she reached him. He turned and she had to follow. They were going the complete opposite direction from where she had started. Once they reached the kitchen, Alyssa went straight to the opened bottle of wine that was still sitting on the table. She smiled at Draco before raising it to her lips and taking a swig. "Everything still good?" She asked as he walked to the stove.

"Yep; it'll heat up in no time."

"What was it you were making again? Enough of this 'surprise' nonsense."

He rolled his eyes again as she walked over to his side. "It's called 'Chicken Breast Flambé' with cherry sauce on top."

"Flambé?" Alyssa said, faking a sophisticated accent.

"Yep, you're supposed to pour all this brandy in…" He trailed raising a bottle of brandy above the pot and letting it spill out. "And…"

Alyssa interrupted by flicking her hand towards the pot and the whole chicken breast ignited into flames. Draco jumped back in surprise and looked at her with his mouth slightly opened; the flames were too close for comfort. "Woops." Alyssa said innocently.

"That never gets old, does it?" He asked slowly.

She shrugged in reply and took another swig of wine. He walked over to a cabinet where the plates were stacked and as he walked back over she thought of something. "Does it hurt?" She asked quietly. He looked over curiously to see her motioning to his scar and shrugged slightly.

"Not anymore." He said, looking back down at the scar. It was at the bottom of his stomach on the left side, crossing from his belly button to his hip. "There's not much feeling around it, so it just feels weird."

Alyssa suddenly felt ill; the thought of someone nearly taking Draco's life made her want to vomit. She swallowed heavily and nodded. "How did it happen?"

Before he answered, he put servings on their plates, let her take the bottle of wine, and walked into the dining room where they sat right next to each other. Alyssa scooted her chair over until it was touching Draco's. He smiled and observed as she cut herself a piece and popped it in her mouth.

"Do you like it?" He asked.

She waited a moment before answering. The chicken was cooked perfectly and surprisingly the cherries contrasted fantastically. "Draco… it's a bit obnoxiously delicious." She said before cutting herself another piece. He chuckled lightly before she said, "Anyway, you were saying?"

He took a mouthful of food and swallowed before he spoke. "I'm not really sure, exactly. Potter could probably tell you more than I can. It gets very confusing when you fight for real, nothing like normal people ever see. Everyone's apparating and disapparating back and forth; it's sometimes hard to tell who you're even fighting. But anyway – this person, whoever it was – I still don't know who, but I killed the bastard afterwards – came out of _nowhere_, quite literally. And whatever kind of knife he had was real sharp because it went through my cloak _and_ the gear I had on underneath it."

Alyssa cringed; so he was stabbed. It bothered her the way he became so animated as he got further into the story as if it were still fresh in his mind. But it bothered her more that he had come so close to… well, she didn't even want to think it.

"Potter found me right after and well… I'm pretty sure he filled you in on the rest." He finished, taking another bite. Alyssa nodded, remembering when Harry had told Draco that he'd get rid of the evidence and make it look like he was dead. "Are you all right?" He asked suddenly looking at her, "I didn't frighten you, did I?"

She smiled apologetically as she continued to eat. He rubbed her shoulder comfortingly and did the same. She felt stupid to think it, but she was frightened. Back when they were at school, Alyssa looked up to Draco as invincible; nothing could stop him. And as she looked down at the long scar it was quite obvious that he wasn't. She sighed taking a sip from the wine bottle and rested her hand in Draco's lap. He took her hand in his own and entwined their fingers together.

He ran his lips across her knuckles and she couldn't help but be soothed. This was how she always wanted it to be. It was like their years of separation didn't exist. They were together again, and that's what mattered.

* * *

It was only with great reluctance that Alyssa found herself back at Harry's place around midnight. In reality, it was obvious that she wanted to stay at Draco's for the night. But for some reason, the conversation she had with Harry earlier made her feel obligated to get back. She unlocked the front door and stepped inside. It was much warmer than it was outside and the lights that were on showed that he was home.

She dropped her purse on the floor and shut the door behind her. "Hello?" She called out, "Harry, I'm back."

"Hey," He called, she could tell he was in the living room. She poked her head around the corner to see him sitting in front of the television with his feet up, and glasses up. It was relaxation time.

"I'll be back, just let me change." Alyssa said quickly. She dashed upstairs and changed into a pair of thick pajamas; her clothes still had Draco's scent... and wine stains. She hurried back downstairs and flopped on the couch next to Harry, snuggling up to his side. "So, good date tonight?" She asked curiously.

"It was all right," He said, "I feel exhausted now, though."

"I know exactly what you mean," Alyssa murmured.

Harry scoffed, "Yet probably for completely different reasons." He looked at her face as her jaw dropped slightly and laughed. "C'mon, I'm just joking." He wrapped his arm around her and rolled his eyes. "I'll tell you more about it when I have the energy." She smiled slightly and rested her head on his shoulder. She took a deep breath and relaxed, her mind constantly running over what had happened earlier, and how she had more plans to be with Draco the very next day. Suddenly she realized she was much more tired than she thought, and not much time had passed before both she and Harry were fast asleep on the couch.

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

_Alyssa,_

_It's good to hear from you; you're right – it was too short of a visit last time and I miss you loads. I showed everyone your letter; they're all missing you as well, of course. They're happy that things are falling together again, though. They want you to visit, especially Alex, but we were sort of wondering if we could go there instead? The thing is – they don't want me to say this – but they all sort of feel left out. Unlike me, most of them don't know about your past and want to meet the people who you're living with, especially Harry since they hear so much about him. I haven't told them much about Draco, except that you were involved back in school. I didn't feel like it was my place, so that'll be a hell of a shock. But anyway, write me back about that because we're hoping something will work out._

_In response to the Death Eater thing, I'm not surprised at all that you've been hearing about it. Even in Romania word has reached us about it. Especially with Mom writing me nowadays. I don't think you're too far off the mark with another fight, though. Nothing like the last time I'm sure, but it's been too quiet on the 'Dark side' for a while so I expect something is rising up. Harry probably knows more than he lets on, but his job needs him to keep his mouth shut about it. I wouldn't get worried about things just yet. If there are new Death Eaters, they're probably just amateurs and it'll be an easy feat for us. I know these words probably don't comfort you, but please try hard not to twist your brain around it; I know how these things get to you._

_Elizabeth is doing great, she's really excited and is already guessing on if it's a boy or girl. I'm just trying to avoid the 'name' subject for as long as possible. I'll keep you updated on how she comes along. Sorry, but I've gotta dash. I've got a meeting with some new Tamers who want to work with us so me and Alex are gonna go interview them. I'm glad to hear everything is good on your end, and get back to me about the visit thing!!_

_Love Brad_

"They can't all stay here, can they?" Harry asked, after Alyssa read the letter to them. She carefully avoided the rest of the letter talking about the Death Eaters.

"Well – no, obviously." She put a finger to her chin, "I'm just thinking of who would come, though, it can't be the whole group?" She looked back at the letter reading the first paragraph again.

"What do you mean the whole group?" Harry asked carefully.

Alyssa shrugged slightly, "Well, there's Alex… Dan and Sam… Eric, Jamie, and Trish… They can just stay at a hotel nearby or something." She edited the last part of her sentence as a response to the look on Harry's face. "Don't you think it's a good idea? I haven't seen them in forever, and they're _dying_ to meet you." She exaggerated heavily and waved the letter in his face.

He finally sighed and shrugged. "I guess – I mean, you've been pretty bored lately with us being at work and all. Just… as long as they get a hotel. My house isn't _that_ big."

Alyssa shook with excitement, "Oh, this is so exciting! They should come the same day Ginny gets back! That way we can all celebrate!" Harry rolled his eyes and took off his sweaty shirt before flopping onto the couch. Alyssa would've written back to Brad right away if she didn't have to shower. "Harry, aren't you excited?" She waited for a response, but when it took too long for an answer, she squealed and ran out of the room.

* * *

Later that night, Alyssa found herself once again in Draco's bed, in his new unfamiliar bedroom. She had yet to ask him about that but figured it could wait a little bit longer. She had just told him about the recent 'hot topic' of Brad and her friends coming to visit from Romania. Draco hadn't responded yet after she thought aloud about them staying in a hotel and meeting everyone. In fact, he seemed oddly uncomfortable.

"Weird silence much?" Alyssa asked quietly.

"No," He answered, "I'm just thinking… of everyone coming to visit." Alyssa couldn't believe it, she wasn't a mind reader, but did he seem a bit… nervous?

"Are you okay?"

He looked over at her with a lopsided smile and ran his knuckles over her cheek. "No… it's just… you didn't tell them about me, did you?"

"Well… no." Alyssa replied, frowning slightly. "But once I explain everything they'll understand why."

"Why is it, then?" Draco asked softly. There was no accusation in his tone, just curiosity.

She sighed and looked away. It was a personal question; no one had ever asked something so specific. Brad was probably the only one who knew the answer to it. But she had to tell Draco; _she_ was the one who left _him_, not the other way around. He deserved to know. "It's frightening to think of how hard I fell for you." She started, not daring to look and see his reaction. "And for that, it's really difficult to look back there. When I left… I nearly lost it. I couldn't handle not seeing you – not feeling you, it tore me apart. I don't think they could understand that if I had tried to explain it to them. I don't know how I _will_ explain it to them."

"Well, you'll have to now, anyway." Draco said sarcastically. But he lightened up the mood incredibly. She rolled over and wrapped her arms tightly around his bare waist. He gripped her shoulders and pulled her up so he could see her face. He brushed her hair away and looked into her eyes before asking, "Do you still feel the same?"

Alyssa trembled and her heart clenched inside her chest, and her voice shook as she replied, "I go by what I said before; I always will… and I don't say things I don't mean."

There was an emotion flashing in his eyes that she could not read. There was a slight uplift to the corners of his mouth and he loosened his grip on her shoulders so he could kiss her softly. She rested her head on his shoulder and ran her fingers through his soft hair.

"So what's this new room about, anyway?" She finally asked.

Draco rubbed his eyes and looked around the room as well. "It's the second Master bedroom here. I was just going to take my parents bedroom but decided that was a bad idea." Alyssa nodded in agreement. She didn't think there could be a worse cause to bad memories. Suddenly Pete ran into the room barking loudly and Draco moaned in protest. "I have to go feed him," He leaned over to kiss her forehead, "I'll be right back."

She watched him get up from his bed dressed in only black pajama bottoms. He walked slowly to the door, turning around to get one last look at Alyssa, as if believing this was all a dream and when he returned she'd be gone. She waved at him and he seemed satisfied and continued out the door. She rolled over under the covers and pulled his pillow to her chest; she was able to inhale his scent. She looked around the room once again. The carpet was a light grey color, and everything else was navy blue; the curtains, the walls, the comforter. It suited him, she thought. It matched his silver eyes.

This was their 'sleepover' night. The last time they were together, they both had been extremely reluctant when Alyssa had to leave to get back to Harry's. So Draco had asked her to spend the night; not for sex, he promised, but he was having just as difficult of a time staying away from her as she was for him. So far they'd eaten dinner with Harry and Hermione, continued for a walk around Hogsmeade by themselves, and returned back to the Manor. They'd been talking nonstop for the past two and a half hours, continuing to catch up on the time they'd been apart.

Soon enough, Draco had returned. He made sure to shut the door behind him so they wouldn't be bothered any further and made his way over to the bed. Alyssa rolled back over to see him throw off the covers of the bed and crawl back in with her. He pressed his entire body on top of her, with his head on her stomach and closed his eyes.

"Comfy?" She asked lightly.

"You have no idea." He murmured. She chuckled, trying not to move too much so she wouldn't disturb him. She weaved her fingers through his hair, playing with the soft strands, and he groaned heavily. The vibrations reverberated through the bed. Alyssa looked out of the opened window and up at the moon that shined brightly through the curtains. She took the moment in; the feeling of his hair in her fingers, his cheek pressed against her stomach, his breath brushing against her skin. If she remembered to just a month ago, she would've only been able to fall asleep _imagining_ a moment like this. Now she was living it, and the emotions she felt were a bit overwhelming. This night would definitely be going down as one of the best she ever had with Draco.

When Alyssa woke up the next day, she was disappointed to see that she was very much alone. She couldn't hear any sound at all, winced at the sunlight as she tried to open her eyes, but could tell Draco was no longer with her because of the huge gap of space in the bed. She turned over to hug the pillow Draco's head rested on, wishing he were still asleep next to her. She cracked one eye open to look at the clock on his nightstand. It was 12:43, on Tuesday. He should've been at work. Alyssa groaned loudly, nestling even closer to the pillow. She had woken up several times during the night. Not because she was uncomfortable, but because she subconsciously felt that if she had fallen asleep for too long, she would wake up and realize that this had all been a dream, and Draco wasn't really back. Each time she woke up, she turned around to press her lips to his jaw, and brushed his hair out of his face.

The sound of Pete barking startled her and she bolted upright in Draco's bed. She brushed her messy hair out of her face and rubbed at her eyes to see more quickly. The door burst opened and Pete galloped into the room and onto the bed, closely followed by Draco who elbowed through the door holding two giant mugs of coffee.

"Ah, you're awake." He mused.

Alyssa nodded but looked confused, "Shouldn't you be at work?" She eyed him curiously noticing he was still in his pajamas and had thrown a light blue thermal on.

Draco rolled his eyes as he came over to the bed and sat down next to her, handing her a mug of coffee. She inhaled its scent before taking a sip and closed her eyes; he certainly hadn't forgotten how much she loved coffee. "I have the day off today. They think I've been working too hard since I've come back."

"They – meaning…?"

"Potter, of course. He thinks I'm still damaged; I'm all patched up obviously, I just need to get back in shape." He made a face of disgust and shrugged as he took a sip from his coffee.

Alyssa smiled at him, "You look in shape to me," she stated.

He rolled his eyes again, "Skin and bones, love. You're not the only one who thinks I'm too skinny."

A slight chill rose up her spine and butterflies fluttered in her stomach at the word – or name, as it was used – _love_. "Yeah," She agreed ignoring the sensation, "A little more meat would be much appreciated." She joked; although she truly did miss the thickness he once had.

Draco pretended to ignore the remark. "So, what would you like to do today?" He asked instead.

She didn't even need to rack through her brain for an answer. "Ugh," She scoffed, "Could you _please_ show me around this place? The last time I was here wasn't even _close_ to such likeable circumstances, and I hardly remember getting a proper tour."

* * *

_Brad,_

_That'd be awesome if you guys came to visit!! Does everyone really want to come out here? Write back to confirm it for me. This weekend Ginny and Blaise are coming back from their honeymoon so that'd be some opportune moment if you all came as well. You'd obviously have to get a hotel with everyone, I've been staying with Harry and there just isn't room for that many people. But I would really love for you all to come. Seriously, I miss you all so much. I'm not sure exactly how I'll introduce them to Draco, but somehow I'll figure it out… I'll probably wing it, actually, now that I come to think of it. He seemed quite nervous to meet all of them, which is hugely out of character._

_I'm glad everything with Elizabeth is going well. I can't wait to see her with a huge belly. It'll be a laugh. Tell her I said that, will you? She probably doesn't miss my sarcasm too much, and even though she thinks I hate her, I miss her just a tad. But she doesn't have to feel obligated to come visit._

_Well, I'm off! Write back to say who's visiting, and if you can come this weekend (I know it's short notice). Love you!!_

* * *

"Could you please SLOW DOWN?" Hermione screamed. She grabbed the 'Oh Shit!' handle, as Alyssa liked to call it, as Alyssa sped around a turn going nearly three times the speed limit.

"You must be _joking_!" Alyssa shouted back, "How many times in your life have you done this? This is the sickest car I've ever got to _touch_, let alone drive!"

The speed dial read eighty-five, yet was still steadily increasing to ninety. After washing Harry's car earlier that afternoon, Alyssa had realized what type of car he had and nearly had a heart attack. It was a brand new model of the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish. He had allowed her to take a little spin as long as she was accompanied in the car, but now that she was actually behind the wheel, Alyssa couldn't see an end in sight. It was one of – if not the smoothest cars she had ever driven in, and it was absolute silence on the inside. On the outside, other cars honked by, and the wind roared loudly against the car.

"Alyssa, PLEASE! Before I get car sick!" Hermione whined. She held her hand over her eyes, afraid to look as Alyssa cackled almost maniacally in her seat. "Please tell me you at least have your license?"

This caused Alyssa to frown, but she didn't lighten the pressure of her foot on the gas. "Well, in New York I do. Does that count?"

She glanced at Hermione who shouted, "LOOK AT THE ROAD!" Alyssa turned away smirking and increased her speed another seven miles per hour. "And _no_, that _doesn't_ count." Alyssa shrugged nonchalantly and cruised happily down the road.

"How 'bout this?" Hermione asked quietly after a few seconds. "You don't slow down, and I'll tell Harry you nearly crashed his fancy car."

Alyssa weighed her options. On one hand, Harry barely even drove the car if he even knew how to work it, so it could've been possible that he wouldn't care unless he saw some sort of damage. But on the other hand, he'd been a bit overprotective lately, and if he thought she was driving 'irresponsibly' _and_ nearly wrecked his car, she wouldn't ever be able to drive the car again, and that definitely wasn't something she wanted. Without answering Hermione's question, she lifted her foot slightly off the pedal and watched as the meter went from ninety-eight to a reasonable sixty-five.

"That better?" She snarled at Hermione.

"Much." She replied, adjusting her position in the seat. "So," She continued, her voice turning considerably lighter. "Are you excited for this weekend?" Brad had written back explaining how that weekend would be a perfect time to come visit. New tamers were coming in and training so work had been slow for them and it was perfectly fine to take some time off. 'Them' being the entire group.

"Yes." Alyssa answered, "Although slightly nervous."

"Why's that?"

"I have a lot of explaining to do." Alyssa answered simply, but added on after a moment. "They don't know about Draco."

Hermione paused, "Is it possible to know you and _not_ know about Draco?"

Alyssa chuckled lightly and shrugged. "And it's more than that… I kind of lied about everything regarding seventh year." Out of the corner of her eye she could see Hermione's jaw fall open and Alyssa smiled weakly.

"Is… is that possible?" Hermione repeated. "What do they think happened?"

"Well… just that I transferred to Hogwarts, had a small _fling_ with Draco, went through finals, and moved with my brother." She explained quickly.

"A _fling_?" Hermione sputtered "If what you call your relationship with Draco a 'fling' then – then…"

"I know." Alyssa interrupted. "It was stupid not to explain. I just didn't want to talk about it… It's painful to go back there." She even winced to get her point across.

"So they know nothing." Hermione stated; Alyssa shook her head. "Nothing about the Death Eaters, the attack, Voldemort, the coma… Nothing." Alyssa shook her head again. "Well… you've got a lot to explain then, don't you? What were you thinking?" Hermione asked, but her voice wasn't harsh. "You would've had to explain it to them _sometime_. Why not have just gotten it over with so you wouldn't have to do what you're doing now?"

"I don't know." Alyssa moaned. "It was stupid; clearly I wasn't thinking. I was forcing myself so hard to leave the past in the past, and get on with my life."

At that Hermione started to laugh. Alyssa's jaw dropped as she glanced incredulously at Hermione. "Oh, yeah. That's a rational thought. No matter how hard you try, you could never shut that part of your life out."

"Yeah, well, no shit." Alyssa said sarcastically. They were silent for a minute or two before she spoke again. "When they first asked me where I'd come from, it was too close to when I left. When I say I was a complete wreck when I left, I mean it. They knew I was depressed and they didn't know why, so instead of going into details to make it worse, I just… lied a bit."

Hermione rolled her eyes and it seemed that the conversation had ended. Alyssa drove around a bit longer before heading back to Harry's house (nearly squealing with joy every time someone turned to look). Once they had arrived, Hermione seemed more than thankful to get out of the car and was already inside when Alyssa locked the car. She hopped up the steps, pulling out the letter from Brad that was still in her pocket. They were arriving Saturday afternoon, and Ginny was arriving Friday night so it was more than perfect timing. Ron and Harry had already been planning on a few things to do once everyone got there, including hitting the bar Saturday night. Draco would obviously be attending so that meant only a few hours to explain to everyone what was going on. Alyssa shook her head as she folded the letter back up and stuffed it into her pocket.

"How was the ride?" Harry asked once she entered the kitchen.

She grinned as she tossed the keys at him, "Excellent."

* * *

The rest of the week would've gone by slowly if it wasn't for Draco. Every minute of spare time either he or Alyssa had, was spent by being with one another. As for the weekend, Alyssa was more excited now, than she was nervous. She had missed Ginny a lot while she and Blaise were away for their honeymoon. It felt as if she had left right when all the important things happened. Also, no matter how much Alyssa was dreading having to 'break the news' to her friends, she was more than excited to see them again. Every time she merely thought about how much fun she would have seeing them, butterflies flew around in her stomach and she literally buzzed.

Though once Friday rolled around, Alyssa was slightly disappointed to find out she wouldn't be seeing Ginny till the next day, anyway. Ginny and Blaise would be getting back at nine at night, and they decided that they were just going to head home and crash first. They would be visiting Harry's house first thing in the morning for breakfast. So Alyssa and Hermione spent that night very bored watching movies on Harry's television, while Harry, Ron and Draco were at work for some big meeting about the Muggle attacks.

"_Wake up, my darling_." A voice cooed in Alyssa's ear the next morning.

"Don't wanna… want to sleep." Alyssa grunted. She turned over in bed, pressing her violated ear against her pillows.

"_Wake up_," It cooed again, in a sing song voice. "Honestly Alyssa, I'm _appalled_. I've been gone for _two weeks_ and you don't even get your arse out of bed when I get back!"

That did the trick. Alyssa shot up in bed, and without shooting a glance at Ginny, threw her arms around her, nearly knocking both of them to the floor. "That's more like it!" Ginny shouted, laughing loudly.

"Ginny, I missed you!" She pulled away to finally look at her best friend. Nothing had changed; she was still there. Although slightly tanner. "It's been so…" Well, she couldn't say boring, could she? "_Weird_ without you!"

Ginny giggled and adjusted her blouse that Alyssa had tugged on. "I missed you, too. Though Blaise is pretty good at keeping me occupied."

"I bet he is." Alyssa muttered, cocking an eyebrow. "When did you get here?"

"About ten minutes ago. I was going to let you sleep, but breakfast is just about ready so they sent me up!" She hopped off the bed and adjusted her jeans, as well. "So, c'mon, everyone's waiting… including Draco." She looked back at the door as if checking if someone was listening and then looked back, leaning back towards the bed and lowering her voice. "Speaking of… fill me in! Please tell me you're married!"

Alyssa laughed and hopped off the bed, "No we're not married. And I guess you could say we're back together?" She said with a shrug, she didn't know the exact answer herself. She pulled on a pair of sweatpants - considering she was only in a tank top and a pair of boy shorts - and headed to the bathroom to quickly brush her teeth before heading back downstairs with Ginny.

"Finally!" Blaise shouted. He rushed over to Alyssa and took her in a bone crushing hug and as he pulled away handed her a mug of coffee. She looked up at him noticing he had gotten ridiculously tan, making him look more handsome than he already was.

"Jeez, Blaise!" She snapped, "You're tanner than I am; and that's saying something!" He grinned at her and rubbed a tan hand to his face, silently bragging. "Don't let it get to your head."

"He already has." Ginny muttered from behind them.

"And for good reason," Blaise said with no shame. He patted her on the head and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Alyssa sipped her coffee and continued into the kitchen. Hermione and – very surprisingly – Ron busied themselves in the kitchen, while Harry and Draco were having some discussion in the living room.

Hermione looked over at her from the stove, "Ah, you're finally awake, Alyssa." She called, getting Draco's attention.

"Smells delicious, Hermione." Alyssa complimented.

"It better." Ron mumbled angrily. She started to laugh but was cut off when an arm wound its way around her waist. She looked up to see Draco smiling down at her. He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss on the lips; her heart fluttered in her chest. She felt vaguely underdressed compared to him; she was still in her pajamas while he was wearing dark dress pants and a white button up shirt.

"Good morning." He said cheerfully.

"M-morning." She stuttered, causing him to smirk. She looked away trying to hide the blush rising in her cheeks and took another sip of coffee. Thankfully, at that point, Hermione announced for everyone to sit down. Draco moved his hand from Alyssa's hip to grip her hand and they sat down next to each other at the table. She subconsciously scooted her chair over until it was touching his, and he draped his arm over her shoulders.

As people began passing around food, Ginny laughed to herself. "So you're telling me _Ronald_ actually _helped_ with the cooking?"

"Surprising myself, even." Hermione said smiling. "He usually only cooks when he's _trying_ to be romantic." Everyone laughed causing Ron to turn a deep shade of scarlet. "Out of love, Ron." She said patting his shoulder, "Out of love." Ron scowled as he piled a few servings of eggs onto his plate. Alyssa smiled to herself and rolled her eyes. Everyone was truly back together now. Ginny and Blaise were back from their honeymoon, and Draco was back, which was all Alyssa could think about these days. And now they were going to get a large addition from her friends visiting from Romania.

* * *

"Brad Bennington," Alyssa repeated impatiently to the clerk at the front desk. "He should've checked in earlier today, maybe that's why you can't find it."

"One moment, Ma'am." The boy replied. Alyssa scowled and rested her forearms on the counter.

"Don't worry about it." Ginny said from her side. "It's probably because they just arrived."

The boy – named Mark, Alyssa saw from his nametag – looked up with a bright smile on his face. "Sorry, Miss," He slurred, "But I found it; room 6-557, sixth floor."

Alyssa flashed a bright grin, her mood automatically uplifted. "Thank you." She said politely. Alyssa tugged on Ginny's sleeve and they walked through the lobby to the elevators. They stepped inside and the doors slide closed. Alyssa tapped her foot impatiently.

"Are we doing that again?" Ginny asked.

She shrugged innocently, "What?" Ginny rolled her eyes. When the elevators reached the sixth floor, the doors slid back opened and Alyssa dashed out, making an immediate left. Ginny stood still in the wing, looking at the numbers listed on the left turn, and the numbers listed on the right.

"Alyssa, I think -" She started to say, but stopped when Alyssa came dashing back and went the opposite direction. Ginny jogged to catch up with her and took longer strides to keep up than necessary. "If you were just patient, you'd feel like you'd gotten there faster."

Alyssa wasn't listening. She looked at each door as she passed, reading the numbers off to herself. "What was it? 6-557, right?" She didn't wait for Ginny to answer and suddenly shouted, "Oh!" and stopped short. "This is it!" She shouted excitedly. Ginny rolled her eyes as Alyssa slammed her fist on the door.

"Who is it?" A muffled voice called from inside.

"Who do you think?" Alyssa shouted back.

There was the sound of locks clicking on the inside, and a man who Ginny had never seen in her life opened the door. She was starting to think they were at the wrong door before he shouted, "It's about time!" He grabbed Alyssa's wrist and yanked her to him, kissing her right on the lips and wrapping his arms around her. Ginny's eyes bulged right out of her skull and he kicked the door further opened shouting, "Guys! Alyssa's here!"

Before people started rushing to the door, Alyssa quickly introduced them. "This is Alex; Alex this is my best friend, Ginny."

"Nice to meet you," He said enthusiastically, flashing a grin. He threw his hand out and Ginny shook it.

Suddenly there were rounds of people shouting Alyssa's name, and she bounced in her spot before sprinting over to everyone to give them hugs. Ginny walked in and shut the door behind her, trying not to interrupt the moment.

"Hey, Ginny." A voice said to her left.

Brad was walking over and gave her a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Hey! Nice to see you, Brad." Ginny replied.

He winced mentally and said, "I'm really sorry about the wedding; I hope you had a good honeymoon."

Ginny shrugged, "Don't worry about it." She watched as the exchanges of hugs continued but was eventually introduced to everyone anyway. For each person, she took a mental note to how she'd remember their names. Alex would be the easiest to remember; Eric had a ridiculously thick English accent; Sam had long, black hair just like Alyssa; Trish and Jamie were both really tan and had light brown hair; and Dan was pale and had dark hair that fell around the tips of his ears. Hopefully it wouldn't be too hard.

"I'm so glad you guys could come!" Alyssa said, practically squealing with joy.

"It was nothing," Dan said. "We missed you too much."

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "Plus work has been seriously slow."

"How are the new tamers?" Alyssa asked, now interested.

Brad – who was usually in the charge of things – scowled slightly. "They're amateurs, obviously. I'm sure they're gonna get their asses into shape this week." Alyssa winced, knowing all too well how that felt. "Weasley and his friends have got it under control, though."

For the next few minutes, everyone chatted to catch up with each other. Alyssa got a lot of news and gossip from what she had missed in the past month. Trish had finally gotten with Orlando, the bartender, for instance, and they were now casually dating. But some things still hadn't changed; Alex was still happily single and loved every second of it.

"So when are we meeting the rest of them?" He asked pleasantly, clapping his hands together.

"Actually," Alyssa said, suddenly remembering she planned on cutting to the chase before it was too late. "There's something I have to tell you."

"Ah," Ginny said, "I'll wait in the lobby." She turned to the door and Brad left with her, already knowing what Alyssa was going to bring up.

"What's up?" Trish asked, concern already on her face.

Alyssa sighed, figuring she might as well get it over with. "There's something I didn't really tell you about when I first moved to Romania." At the opening sentence, they realized this would be something serious and the room turned deadly silent. "Do you guys remember me saying anything about Draco Malfoy?"

There was a wave of confusion passing through the room before, "You might've mentioned him once or twice. At least - Brad did." Trish said.

"Yeah, you two had a thing or something." Sam added.

Alyssa let out a nervous laugh and nibbled on her lip. "Yeah, well… it wasn't just a 'thing'. I kind of… fell in love with him." More confusion. The only movement in the room was as Alex crossed his arms over his chest. "And it was a bit complicated."

"What do you mean 'complicated'?" He asked.

"Well, to start with – his dad is what made my dad become a Death Eater." There was an intake of breath, something else Alyssa hadn't mentioned. "And my handy-dandy powers? I was nearly killed because of them."

"Wait – what?" Dan asked, standing from his seat.

"Let me finish." Alyssa said raising her hands. "That year when Voldemort was at large, he wanted to take control of my powers; he could posses me to use them. So I was attacked a fair few times during my school year, and Draco was right in the middle of it." Slowly but surely, the entire story of Alyssa's seventh year at Hogwarts started flooding out of her mouth. She went from first learning about what she was capable of, to being in a coma, trying to get out every detail she could in the short amount of time she had. Everyone listened in pure silence, waiting for her to finish, in complete awe of what they were hearing. They had learned nothing about the information that Alyssa was giving them.

"So… that's it." Alyssa said, shrugging slightly.

"You really meant complicated." Sam said thickly; Alyssa nodded. "So let me get this straight – and correct me if I'm wrong. You fell in love with someone, who – all in one year – could've been a Death Eater, gained your trust, beat the crap out of you, kidnapped you and took him to where he knew Voldemort would be, nearly got you killed, his father stabs you… and then he kills him."

Alyssa nodded after each act, "Yep. Pretty much."

Sam nodded as well. "Now… how is it that you fell in love with him?"

Alyssa attempted trying to answer, but there were really no words. "It's… unexplainable." She decided to say, instead. "You'll figure it out when you meet him."

"We're meeting him tonight?" Trish asked.

"No… I just figured I'd let you all know about this for shits and giggles." Alyssa replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Yes, you're meeting him tonight."

"Then let's go!" She shouted enthusiastically. Everyone murmured their agreement.

"Wait, wait!" Alyssa said, holding up her hands. "You guys aren't mad at me?" She asked quietly.

The group all looked at each other, as if having some sort of telepathic conversation, when finally Dan nodded his head and answered. "We're a bit peeved that you didn't tell us to begin with… but we remember how you were when you first arrived."

"A tad off your rocker." Eric threw in.

Dan glared at him but nodded, "Yes, thank you, Eric. But we understand that it was hard to talk about. And we're just glad you decided to tell us."

Alyssa let out a huge sigh of relief; a heavy weight lifted from her shoulders. They had an affectionate group hug before they finally left to go meet Ginny and Brad down in the lobby. Harry had reluctantly agreed to let everyone meet up at his house before heading to a pub in Hogsmeade; the only term being that Ron scrubbed down his kitchen beforehand. Yet even though he was expecting them, his eyes still popped wide opened when he opened the door. It took a solid thirty minutes to introduce everyone, and Draco wasn't even there yet. He was at the Ministry for some reason and was planning on meeting them at the bar. Once they got there, the majority of them sat down, taking up two booths, while Jamie and Alyssa hit the bar.

"Well, we need a round of drinks for those two booths," Alyssa said to the bartender, jutting her thumb over her shoulder. "But we'll have two beers, please." She added flashing a grin.

The bartender popped open two bottles and slid them over the counter to them. "Thanks." Alyssa mumbled.

"So…" Jamie said, pretty mischievously. "Harry's pretty good looking. Is he single?"

"Not wasting any time, are you, Jamie?" Alyssa said with a laugh.

Jamie rolled her eyes, "Well… have you _seen_ him?"

"Yes, actually. I have." Alyssa answered, "I don't know if you knew… but we're kind of best friends." She said sarcastically. Jamie rolled her eyes a second time but Alyssa answered her question. "Yes, he's single." Although she suddenly remembered the 'date' he had been on, wondering about what had happened.

Jamie grinned happily, "So you don't mind if I hit on him ridiculously, do you?"

It was Alyssa's turn to roll her eyes and she shivered at the mere thought of hitting on Harry. "Knock yourself out, babe." She turned away from the counter taking a few gulps of her drink and looked back at the two booths noticing a certain blonde had showed up. She nudged Jamie in the ribs who nearly choked on her drink and hissed, "He's here!" before shoving through the crowd of people to get to him.

He noticed her coming before she even reached him and pulled her to his chest in a tight hug. "You finally showed!" She whispered into his ear, followed by a kiss on the cheek.

"Of course I did." He mumbled. "I'm not going to miss meeting your friends." Alyssa's heart fluttered in her chest and her stomach did flips on the inside; he was insanely perfect. She turned to the group and shouted to get their attention – which wasn't hard because they were all observing innocently, anyway. She quickly introduced him to everyone, and he was uncharacteristically friendly towards them all. She was shocked, and so was everyone from Romania but in a completely different way; she could see the girls swooning over him already.

After they were done with small talk, Draco took Alyssa's hand and stepped away, making his way over to the bar to order his own drink. As he waited while the bartender helped some other people, Alyssa wrapped her arms around him and kissed him full on the lips, running her fingers through his soft hair.

"You seem happy to see me today." He said with a smirk, and ran his hand over her cheek.

"I missed you." She said simply, even though it'd only been a few hours since seeing him that morning. "Plus I've been talking about you a lot, which made it _that_ much more painful when I wasn't with you."

"Ah, that's right." He said, nodding understandingly. "How'd that go?" He moved his hand from her cheek to wrap his arm possessively around her waist.

"Surprisingly well, actually." She replied. Draco got his drink and he walked them over to a not as crowded area in the bar. Her back was to the wall and he leaned forward to avoid bumping into people before taking a sip of his beer. Alyssa busied herself with running her hands over his crisp white button up while she spoke. "They were pretty understanding, really. And they seem to like you."

"That's good." He said with a curt nod. "It'd be unlucky for them if they didn't." He leaned in some more to capture her lips and she tried hard to restrain herself in the very public bar. Her hand gripped the back of his neck and she forced herself to pull away.

"Where were you all day?" She asked, trying to keep in control. "I heard you were at the Ministry."

"Mm." He shook his head and mumbled, "That's not important, love." He kissed her again, this time with more force and she moved her lips against his with just as much strength.

"Sorry to interrupt," A voice suddenly said, forcing the two of them to break apart. Ginny was in the middle of rolling her eyes when Draco scowled at her. "But could I borrow Alyssa for a moment?"

Draco reluctantly let go of her and Ginny grabbed Alyssa's elbow to pull her away. "What is it?" Alyssa asked, completely confused, her head still in space.

"Uh, nothing to worry about, really." Ginny mumbled quickly, while looking around. "It's just… I got word of someone coming here… you might want to keep a low profile."

Alyssa cocked an eyebrow. "What?"

"Oh, never mind! Just listen to what I said." She snapped impatiently. Alyssa rolled her eyes and sat back down at one of the booths next to Ginny, Sam, Dan and Eric. They were enjoying some nachos and still downing beer.

"So, nice looking thing you got there, Alyssa." Sam commented. Alyssa followed her gaze to see that she was eyeing Draco who was back at the bar.

She chuckled lightly, "Thanks. He's great isn't he?"

Sam nodded, "I can see why you're so infatuated. You can't keep your hands off each other." Alyssa opened her mouth to say something when Sam's look suddenly turned into a glare and she raised an eyebrow. "And neither can _she_, apparently." Alyssa whipped her head around to see Draco pull out of a hug with some girl who she'd never seen in her life. Her jaw dropped. Draco seemed to know her for he was smiling brightly and nodding with whatever she had just said. The girl – some weird looking brunette – was obviously begging for his attention with the way she kept rubbing his arm.

"What the hell?" Alyssa hissed as a surge of jealousy crept through her bones. She nudged Ginny sharply who glared at Alyssa, "Who the hell is _that_?"

Ginny followed Alyssa's gaze and laughed suddenly, "_That's_ nothing to worry about. Just Jennifer."

"Jennifer?" Alyssa blanched at the name. "When he said he dated one person does that mean…"

"Bingo." Ginny muttered before raising her beer to her lips. Alyssa literally gagged that time and she let her hands grip the edge of the table. "Calm down, Alyssa. There's no point in being jealous. She's got nothing on you."

Alyssa scoffed, "Look at the way she's touching him!" She yelled, startling Eric and Dan who, until that point, weren't listening. "Sorry…" She muttered and tried - unsuccessfully - to force herself to look away. "Excuse me a moment," She said instead, and climbed over Ginny to get out of the booth. Ginny grabbed Alyssa by the wrist trying to restrain her.

"Please, don't make a scene." She muttered.

"I won't." Alyssa said, faking a bright smile. She pushed her way back through the crowd and over to Draco. Once again, he saw her before she reached him and his eyes glinted at her as if he knew what she was thinking.

"Alyssa," He said, practically shouting over the loud volume of the room. "This is Jennifer, Jen this is Alyssa."

Alyssa looked over at her skeptically; _Jen_ glared subtly at her but raised her hand to shake. Alyssa shook it, trying to restrain tearing her hand right off her wrist. Draco's hand touched the small of her back somehow communicating a 'be nice' tone. Alyssa smirked at him and relaxed her stance. The girl was shorter than her, for God's sake.

"I was just telling her you two should meet." Draco said, and Alyssa could've sworn there was humor in his voice.

"I'm sorry, how do you know Draco?" Jennifer asked raising her eyebrow and pursing her lips.

"Oh," Alyssa said, mulling that one over. "He's my boyfriend." She said slowly and loudly.

Jennifer clearly wasn't expecting that and her head tilted back, "Oh… that's… nice." Alyssa merely shrugged and snagged Draco's beer away so she could drink it herself. If this girl was going to stick like glue to Draco, then she'd have to endure Alyssa to do it. Alyssa opened her mouth to say something when a bunch of flashes suddenly went off, blinding her vision. She leaned into Draco who was looking over the crowd as well to see what all the fuss was about.

"It's the Quidditch team!" Jennifer suddenly shouted. She began rummaging through her purse and ran away saying, "I can't find a pen!"

Alyssa's heart began to race as Ginny's words suddenly clicked into her head. That was dumb. She looked over at Draco who was looking at her quizzically when someone suddenly shouted, "Oliver!" before another flash went off.

"Oh, shit…" Alyssa mumbled, heaving a sigh. She looked back at Draco who also added one thing to another and he pushed himself up from the counter. He grabbed her hand and went back to the booth, sitting on the outside as to avoid her being seen. This was definitely not how she pictured the night turning out.

* * *

**A/N: **Hope you liked it! And once again, thanks sooo much to all the great reviews! I was trying to get this out quicker than usual but this internet situation is absolute crap. Hopefully it'll be a tad faster next time, but alas!


	9. Chapter 9

Alyssa was nervously drumming her fingers on the tabletop, leaning back slightly, as Draco comfortingly gripped her thigh. What the hell was Oliver doing there? He didn't even write her or anything and he just shows up? She snuck a glance at the other end of the room; the crowd still hadn't died down as people rushed over to get autographs from practically the entire Quidditch team. Alyssa rolled her eyes and leaned back to her previous position.

"You had no idea he was coming here?" Draco asked quietly.

"No!" She hissed, "He didn't even write me!"

Draco sighed and rolled his eyes. He obviously wasn't wanting any sort of awkward confrontation either. He looked cautiously over his shoulder and sighed again. "What's wrong?" Alyssa asked.

"Nothing." He mumbled shaking his head. "It's just that some of them know Potter so it's drawing some attention." Alyssa scoffed and slapped her hand to the table. Oliver was also an acquaintance to Harry; if he saw him he would definitely say hello, and definitely ask about her. That wasn't something she needed at that moment.

Ginny sauntered over and squished into the booth looking meaningfully at Alyssa. "Now do you get it?"

"Next time just smack me in the face or something." Alyssa bit out.

"I'm thinking it's inevitable," Ginny pondered. "He's talking to Harry now."

"What?" Alyssa snapped. She twisted her neck around to look about twenty feet away from them where Oliver had just shaken Harry's hand. Hopefully Harry would be incredibly telepathic and know ahead of time that Alyssa didn't want to see Oliver, and say she wasn't even there if he asked. Hopefully. "Maybe he won't say anything." She suggested.

Ginny shrugged a shoulder. "Perhaps." At that moment Brad walked over looking excited.

"Did you see who's here?" He asked Alyssa. "This is fantastic; it's like everyone's exes all in one room." He laughed maniacally and took a swig of his beer.

"Brad this is far from fantastic! And don't let him see you, for the love of God." Alyssa snapped. She looked apologetically at Draco and said, "I feel like I'm putting you through the most awkward night of your life."

Draco squinted his eyes, contemplating. "I might've been through worse." Alyssa blinked; he probably had.

"Everything looks good." Ginny murmured, looking over nonchalantly. "It looks like Harry hasn't said anything or else he would've been here." She looked over at Alyssa sending her a bright smile; a failed attempt at being comforting. She rested her head on Draco's shoulder and inhaled his scent making her slightly lightheaded and temporarily at ease. As that short moment passed by, she thought maybe this wouldn't be as bad as she was expecting. Maybe Oliver wouldn't see her, and would leave, and there would be no harm done. She could spend the rest of her night with Draco. But when did things ever really work out like that?

"Alyssa?" She closed her eyes, recognizing his voice without having to look up at him. Her eyes grazed over the worried looks of her friends before finally reaching his slim figure, to the concerned look in his eyes. It was hard to not find him attractive when he was looking so good in his tight, red, long-sleeved shirt.

She plastered on the brightest – fakest – smile she could muster. "Oliver! What are you doing here?" She glanced at Draco and saw a smirk plastered on his face.

"The team is just passin' through." He said; his eyes were dancing back and forth between Draco and Alyssa, and the hand that he had on her thigh. "Sorry I didn't write; I wasn't sure if you'd be back in Romania or not."

She smiled and a weak chuckle escaped her lips. "Uh, hold on." She snuck a shrug at Ginny and gave Draco a nudge so she could get out. He rolled his eyes and stood up. The way he stood taller than Oliver, and gave him a deadly serious look seemed frighteningly intimidating and Alyssa rushed out of the booth to speak with Oliver alone. "Why don't we step outside to talk?" she asked lightly. Oliver smiled and nodded and began walking towards the door. Alyssa tightened her lips and gripped Draco's hand before following Oliver.

It was cooling off outside since it was getting later, and Alyssa was thankful she had dressed in jeans and a long sleeved shirt. The wind rushed by in the somewhat empty streets and the only sounds that could be heard was the loud chatter and music coming from the bar and other restaurants. Alyssa turned to appraise Oliver. He looked slightly uncomfortable yet cheerful at the same time; it seemed confusing to her.

"So," She started, "When did you get here?"

He shrugged slightly, "Earlier today."

Alyssa nodded and she figured that their conversation wouldn't get any less awkward. "You didn't write or anything."

"Yeah, I know." He replied nodding. "We're not here for long; I didn't think we'd actually run into each other." Alyssa nodded once again and they fell into another silence. She wondered if this was because of the letter she had written him what felt like _ages_ ago, or because of seeing her with someone else, or if they really had just fallen apart altogether. She was startled when Oliver started talking again. "Look – I know once Malfoy returned, it was over. But I wish you'd been able to talk to me about this first before -"

"I didn't end things with you because of him." Alyssa said, cutting him off. "That was before I even knew if he was alive or not."

Oliver shrugged as if that had no importance. "Well even when we were together, I knew you weren't over him. I could've never competed with him whether he _was_ alive or not; you would've left me eventually."

"But that's not _why_ I ended it." Alyssa insisted. "We were never together. I'd been with you for so many months yet I wasn't really with you. Practically the whole time you were off playing Quidditch – and I'm not blaming you for that, it's your life – but that's the thing." She sighed heavily and he waited for her to continue. "You can't pretend to settle down with someone who _isn't_ your life. And I'm not trying to compare you two, but with Draco… he _is_ my life. You're right in that I could never be happy with anyone but him. But I wouldn't have left you for it."

"Really?" He asked sardonically, he cocked an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. "You're telling me that if we were still together when he came back, you wouldn't have left me for him?"

He had a point. Alyssa was stumped for a good five seconds before she was able to answer. "I don't know… but I don't want to go by that either. All I know is that when I was with you, I was _with you_; I never thought about him instead of you, I never compared you to him. And I know that you can realize that, too."

Oliver nodded after a moment in agreement; she, too, had a point. As she began to speak once again, though, it was his turn to cut her off. "Ah, don't say it."

"What?"

"Don't say the whole 'don't worry, someday maybe you'll find a Quidditch gal, and you can run off and play Quidditch games and have Quidditch babies.'"

Alyssa threw her head back and laughed, her hand eventually gripped her sides. "I didn't think it was that funny." Oliver mumbled. She continued to laugh and wiped at her eye before saying, "Don't worry, I wouldn't _think_ of saying that. But at least you know it's true!"

A gust of wind picked up and her hair went flying around her face. It felt much colder now, and she could've even sworn she felt raindrops. "Maybe we should get back inside." Oliver said softly.

"I was thinking the same thing." Alyssa murmured. She looked back at him and smiled slightly; glad that they could come to an agreement and part ways on good terms. He took a few steps forward and as she turned around he grasped her elbow. She turned to see what the fuss was when he suddenly leaned in and kissed her. Her first instinct was to push him away, but she realized what he was doing was perfectly harmless. It was an odd sort of way of saying goodbye; this would be the last time she would feel his – and hopefully anybody other then Draco's – lips against hers. When he pulled away he smirked at her lightly. "Couldn't help meself."

"I figured."

"Don't tell Malfoy I did that; he'll kick the livin' piss out of me."

Alyssa laughed lightly, "I'll try to restrain myself."

Once they stepped back inside, Oliver was pulled away by his teammates and threw Alyssa a sympathetic smile. Alyssa rolled her eyes and went back to sit at her table where Draco and Ginny were still seated. She flopped in the seat next to Draco and sighed; hopefully _now_ the worst of the night was over.

"Well, who else is ready to call it a night?" Alyssa said sarcastically. She raised her own hand and looked around the table, but shrugged at the lack of response. Draco pulled her hand back down and tucked it away in his lap.

"He kissed you." Draco said, still looking across the room at Oliver. It wasn't a question.

"How'd you know?" Alyssa asked, shocked. Draco smirked a bit, still not looking at her. "I'd recognize that look on his face anywhere." He said with a hint of cheer. Alyssa rolled her eyes and rested her head on his big shoulder. She looked at the booth next to them that had the rest of the group; Jamie already seemed to be a close acquaintance of Harry's – they were getting along quite nicely; Ron and Hermione were at the bar, chatting happily to themselves; and everyone else was drinking. She turned to Draco suddenly and gripped his shoulder, "Let's get out of here." she said.

"What?" He asked after taking a swig of his beer.

"Let's leave." Alyssa said again.

Draco looked around confused before gesturing towards the crowd around them. "What about everyone else?"

Alyssa sighed, already shoving him down the bench. "They won't even notice we're gone. C'mon, let's go." He finally stood up causing Alyssa's bodyweight to crash forward. He quickly caught her by the upper arm and helped her up before giving her a kiss. "Let's go, then."

* * *

It was still dark out, and the rain had persisted through the night. Ron, Hermione and Alyssa were waiting patiently for Harry to get back from work. Apparently he had some news. And if this was as serious as their demeanor, it would be bad news. Alyssa stared out of the living room window; the only visible light from the outside was coming from the streetlamps and the moon. Inside was dark save for the fireplace. What if something bad was happening? What if it was a bigger threat than everyone thought and they had to fight again? Alyssa didn't want to fight; she was done fighting in her life – she had enough battle scars. She sighed and blinked looking over at the clock; barely any time had passed from when she'd looked the last time.

"How long are we supposed to wait?" She asked, annoyed.

Hermione shrugged and stilled Ron, whose constant pacing was making her anxious. She didn't answer the question. Alyssa sighed again and rolled her eyes. The dramatic weather outside made this much worse. Finally there was a bright green roar of flames coming from the fireplace, and Harry stepped out, slightly ashen.

"We're on the Floo?" Alyssa asked.

"I decided to add us; I'll be back and forth a lot." Harry answered with no importance. He dropped his cloak to the floor and pulled his glasses off his head to clean them.

"Well?" Hermione snapped.

He glanced up, "What?"

"What do you think?" Ron started.

Alyssa uncrossed her arms and scoffed, "Yes, Harry, you kept us waiting long enough. What's going on?"

Harry looked at her sadly before sitting across from her. "It looks like we've got a bit of a problem on our hands. A Wizard was attacked last night. Missing. There were witnesses, though, and they've said that these 'Death Eaters'" He even used his fingers as quotations, "are no amateurs. They're pretty dangerous, and have large numbers."

"How could they find out about their size?" Alyssa asked.

"The witnesses were attacked as well; they were taken to their campsite but were able to escape."

"What does this mean?" Ron asked then.

"It means we have to take them out. Get rid of them before this turns into something worse." Harry said seriously. He was obviously reluctant about having to fight again, as well. "We're gathering up everyone to make this as easy as possible. I want this over, once and for all."

Hermione pushed herself off the wall she was leaning on, "This means we'll have to move fast, won't we?"

"_We_?" Alyssa asked. Harry looked at her and said, "Well you don't want to sit out another one, do you?" She smirked, even though given the seriousness of their discussion, Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes and laugh at her. Alyssa stood up from the couch to get a drink of water from the kitchen. Hermione, Ron and Harry continued with the discussion, but the sound was drowned out by the rain pounding on the windows. She grabbed a glass and filled it with water from the sink. As she drank it slowly, she rounded her thoughts up together. She would have to tell Brad as soon as possible, if he didn't already know. And this meant she'd have to start meditating again; she sighed heavily – she hated meditating. Suddenly there was pounding on the door, startling Alyssa and nearly causing her to drop the glass of water.

"I'll get it." Alyssa said. She set the glass down and walked towards the door. She flicked the light on to light up the porch before opening the door. A soaking wet Draco and Brad stood waiting patiently. They gave a start when she opened the door and both casted drying spells on themselves before stepping inside. "What's going on?" She asked.

Draco looked confused, "Has Potter not told you yet?"

"Well, yeah, but I wasn't expecting you to show up." Alyssa explained. She looked at Brad giving him a serious look and he forced a smile. "Where have _you_ been?"

"Draco wrote me before coming here," he replied gesturing towards him. Alyssa's eyebrows flashed upwards, surprised, before Harry shouted at her from the living room.

"Who is it?"

Alyssa shut the door. "Draco and Brad," she shouted back. "What's everyone doing?"

Brad shrugged lightly, "They went to go sight-see in London; they've been gone all afternoon." He took off his jacket and walked into the house to greet everyone. Draco, on the other hand, stayed back.

"How are you?" She asked him. He shrugged and ran a hand through his now dried hair.

"I want to ask you something." He said seriously.

"What?" she asked, but he seemed uneasy. He shook his head and sighed. "I want us to be alone."

Alyssa tried to ignore the skipping of heart beats and asked, "Do you want to leave?"

"No, it's fine." He said, he grinned and took off his cloak, hanging it on the coat rack. "It's all right." He took a step closer to her and pulled her into a surprisingly warm hug, given the cold weather outside. Alyssa kissed him on the neck three times and tucked her head into the nook of his neck. "I missed you." She murmured.

"You say that every time I see you, even if I was barely gone." Draco replied.

Alyssa shrugged, "But I don't mean it any less. I hate being away from you."

"I know," he sighed. She inhaled his scent from his thick grey sweater and ran her hands up and down his sides, smiling lightly. Draco was working hard to get his weight back and it was paying off nicely, she could feel the difference. "C'mon, let's go inside." Draco said. She reluctantly dropped her arms from him and they walked into the living room.

Someone had finally decided to crank the lights up, so the mood seemed much lighter than it was before. Alyssa sat down on the couch and Draco sat next to her, automatically wrapping his arm around her shoulders. They had arrived in the middle of their conversation.

"I think we should figure out more about them before we make any rash decisions. We don't want to just rush in and lose control of the situation." Hermione said reasonably. But Ron scoffed.

"Absolutely not. I go by what Harry said before; we need to end this before it really starts. They're probably not expecting us, anyway."

Hermione shook her head, "This is why we _should_ figure out what's going on; we don't really know what they know, do we?" She looked around the room and Alyssa wasn't sure if she was looking for an answer or not. "They could expect us to do something stupid… they could already be prepared for us. You heard what Patterson and Roberts said," Now she was speaking to Harry, "The two of them are well trained Wizards. They should be able to defend themselves, and they didn't. We can't go in this blind. We don't want another one of us getting hurt." She pursed her lips and looked pointedly at Draco. Alyssa looked up at him for a reaction but his face was vacant of any expression.

"The Aurors are more than well trained, Hermione." Harry said softly. "I've trained with every single one of them and they're all prepared to fight."

"Fine," She said, losing her strength. "Go in over your heads; see what happens." She crossed her arms and her closed mouth was a firm line. She was done with the conversation.

"Am I the only one who thinks Hermione's right?" Brad asked suddenly. Alyssa raised her hand slightly and Draco didn't even respond. "Maybe we should think of someone who can _see_ what's going on."

"What, like a Seer?" Hermione asked, now enthusiastic because someone was listening.

"Well, maybe." He said with a shrug. "Or at least someone who can get on the inside and figure out what the 'Death Eaters' are doing. See if they're training; see their numbers; that's what we need to figure out right?"

No one answered but Brad didn't need a response to know he had a point. Alyssa ranked through her brain; Draco was the only one who would be able to get some useful information. But she wouldn't let him be used that way again, because it nearly cost his life and her own. Finally she had an idea… but Brad wouldn't like it.

"I have an idea." She muttered. Brad looked at her surprised and she shrugged lightly, talking more to him than anyone. "We can talk to Demetri."

"What?" The others asked, but Brad shook his head violently. "No; absolutely not. That isn't happening, I won't let it."

"Can you think of anything else?" Alyssa asked defensively.

"I don't care." Brad said stubbornly. "We aren't talking to him."

Everyone was still quite confused and only Draco spoke, "Who's Demetri?"

"Demetri," Brad said with a hint of venom in his voice, "Is a Vampire we know because of our father."

"A Vampire?" Hermione asked, obviously interested now. "There's hardly any left." She added, practically speaking to herself.

"How could he help us?" Draco asked.

"Vampires see everything we don't. They would definitely know more about these Death Eaters than we do, they're bound to know what's going on. And he would definitely help us… well… me, anyway." Alyssa explained.

Brad rolled his eyes and chuckled darkly, "That's not happening. You know it just as much as I do."

"Why not?" Hermione asked curiously.

Brad sighed and glared at Alyssa before answering. "Demetri fell in love with Alyssa when she was thirteen." At this, Draco gave a start. "He tried to change her."

"How does one exactly fall in love with a thirteen year old?" Ron asked.

Alyssa shook her head, "It's not as ridiculous as it sounds; Vampires work differently than we do. It's sort of a 'Love at First Sight' thing – but more powerful; kind of like Imprinting for werewolves."

Everyone looked to Alyssa who smiled back, trying not to feel uncomfortable under their shocked gazes. "There's no sign of that, though." Harry said.

"He _tried_ to change her," Braid replied, "He failed because we would've destroyed him if he had, and the three others in his clan didn't want that so they stopped him, and we left."

"I don't really agree to this plan, either." Draco said.

Alyssa laughed, "Your opinion doesn't count; conflict of interest. C'mon, this is the only plan we've got. I'll go in and talk to him by myself," At Brad's hostile glare, she continued, "Harry can set up a crew that'll have my back, but I'll have to talk to him on my own. I'm the only one who he'd talk to."

"Sorry, Brad, but I kind of like this idea." Ron said.

"You would." Hermione scoffed. He looked at her and she said, "Well, you would!"

Ron shook his head, "It doesn't matter. It's the only plan we've got so far, I don't know any Seers – or anyone willing to become a spy - do you?" He didn't wait for a reply. "Exactly. So we can get information from this Demetri guy,"

"He's not a _guy_." Brad snapped.

Ron ignored him, "After that, we can make a proper plan, head in, and end this." He smiled and leaned back in his chair, pleased with himself.

"What do you think, Harry?"

Harry opened his mouth to speak but Brad interrupted him. "It doesn't matter if Harry agrees or not. You won't even be able to find him; we haven't spoken to him in years and I highly doubt his clan is in the same spot they were back then."

"I know… that's why I'll have to go to Azkaban."

"_What_?" Harry asked.

Brad pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. "Alyssa, why are you making this as difficult as possible?"

"Dad is the only one who kept in touch with him. I guarantee you he knows where Demetri is. And he has nothing else to lose, there's no reason why he wouldn't tell me." She waited for more protests, ignoring the constant frustrated sighs coming from Brad. No one seemed ready to make a decision. "Okay, how about… I at least talk to my dad first, and then we can decide about Demetri."

"Yes." Harry said. "I agree to that. You shouldn't have a problem with that either, Brad. She won't get hurt; we can make the decision later." Alyssa looked over at Brad to see that he was seriously pissed. But Harry did have a point; she was just going to see her father, and there really wasn't any danger to that was there? _Then _they could find Demetri. She observed Brad and once he looked at her she smiled weakly at him. He sighed and sat down, not saying a word.

"Great!" Alyssa said clapping her hands. "We're making progress." She looked over at Draco who didn't look too happy either, but he didn't say anything. His arm just tightened possessively around her shoulder.

* * *

Alyssa never felt more sick in her life. She could've combined all of the hangovers she'd ever had and they didn't add up. She thought to the few stomach viruses she had and couldn't remember feeling worse. She had never been to Azkaban, and didn't ever think she had a reason to be there. Harry stood patiently by her side, waiting for her to get over the sudden cramp she felt, obviously used to this sort of reaction.

"I'm sorry, Harry, I don't know why I'm acting this way."

Harry shook his head, "You're not used to this feeling. It's understandable." He seemed perfectly fine, and the only visible effect was that he was one shade paler than normal.

"Okay, I think I'm good. Just don't tell Brad; he's beating me up enough as it is for just suggesting this without finding out about this."

"I won't." He promised, cracking a smile. The sudden brightness from his gesture made her feel better and she stood up straight. "Now, are you sure you want to do this? You really don't have to. I can ask the questions if you want. Do you want me to go in there with you?"

"I'm fine, Harry, I'm fine." She assured him. She glanced at the cell door and a nervous tremor coursed through her body. "I just need to get this over with. Just… stay out here, and I'll be back before you can say… Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore." She smiled at him and he laughed before nodding at the guard to open the door. With his wand he undid several charms and locks before the door opened on its own. Harry gripped her shoulder; Alyssa composed her posture, and walked inside.

It was a blank room; a questioning room. Not an actual holding cell. There were no windows yet the entire room was somehow lit up in an eerie glow. Her father, Brian Shepard, sat absolutely unrecognizable on a dingy chair behind a metal table. There was another chair that matched his, empty, waiting for her. With a loud echo around the room, the door shut behind her. It was obvious that they were still being watched. She sat down and eyed her father.

"Alyssa," He greeted surprisingly cheerfully. His hair was messy and down to his shoulders. The robes he was wearing were shabby and torn, and looked like they hadn't been washed in weeks – maybe longer. His face was worn and ragged; it looked like he had aged more in three years than he had in his entire lifetime.

She tightened her lips in a grim smile, but this did not seem to ruin his cheer. "I never expected you of all people to come for a visit." He said casually.

"Well, don't worry." Alyssa replied sarcastically, "I'm not taking this time to bond and catch up on all the years we missed."

He smirked lightly, and leaned forward to rest his forearms on the table. She leaned back, wanting more space between them; she still obviously wasn't ready to trust him after he practically let her get killed. "Then what calls for the occasion?"

Alyssa sighed and figured she might as well cut to the chase. The faster she got this little interview done, the faster she'd be in her nice warm bed. "You're probably not surprised that we've got a bit of a rebellion on our hands." He blinked. She was correct. "Everyone wants to head in and end this thing once and for all, but we need some information first."

"And what makes you think that I would have any to give you? I've been stuck in this cell; remember?" He folded his hands together and waited for her to continue.

"I'm well aware, thank you." She snapped. "We only know a few things, but we need someone on in the inside. The only person who can get some useful information is Draco but we don't want –"

"Draco?" Brian asked, suddenly interested. "I had heard he returned… you're still together I take it?"

Alyssa paused and blinked a few times, now thrown off track. "Not that it's any of your business, but yes, we're together. Can we stick to the point, please?" Brian smiled and waved his hands for her to continue. "Like I was saying – we don't want to use him again. So, I could only think of one… person who could help us out, and I've got a bit of a hunch that says you know where he is."

"Oh, really? And who might this be?"

"Demetri." Alyssa said. "We figured you'd know where he is, seeing as you were the only one who kept in touch with him."

Brian smirked again, "And why would I tell you where he is? Not only does this not benefit me, but he'd kill you right away if he had the chance."

"_Change_ me," She corrected. "And you've nearly had me killed; I don't see where you'd have a problem with this. Plus we've got that all figured out. All we need is to find out where he is." She waited for him to spill the beans as he seemed to seriously contemplate his options. "Besides, as you well know, my best friend could help you out, here in Azkaban." She gave a disgusted look at the room as if to emphasize her point.

"Are you bribing me, Alyssa?" He asked with a smile.

Alyssa shrugged. "It depends on if you help _me_ out, and how much Demetri helps _us_ out. But I know how shitty the conditions are here and you wouldn't be sorry."

He didn't need much more convincing after that, and sat up straight. "Fine. Give me some paper and I'll write out the last exact location I know of. I haven't talked to him since you threw me in here," he noted with some disgust, "But he should still probably be there."

"Thank you." Alyssa said honestly. She took a scroll of parchment and a quill out and passed them over the table to him. She waited, tapping her foot impatiently on the floor. The taps echoed around the room. She nibbled on her lip for about thirty more seconds before he slid the paper back over. She read it over quickly and her eyebrows rose, "Really? That close?"

"That close." He confirmed. He leaned back in his chair, "Are we done here?"

Alyssa lifted her head from the table, startled by his sudden rudeness. "Yes. Thank you." She repeated again. She folded the parchment and put it back in her back. Before she rose from her seat she thought of something. "By the way… I figured I'd let you know because you probably don't hear much in here. You'll be a grandfather soon."

This struck a nerve in Brian and his eyes widened slightly before roaming to her stomach. "It's not mine. Brad's wife, Elizabeth, is pregnant." She guessed that her mom really hadn't filled him in on much since he was thrown into Azkaban. The room was silent and she felt extremely awkward due to his lack of reaction. She took this as her cue to leave and threw her bag over her shoulder before pushing her chair away from the table.

"Wait." Brian said, stopping her in her tracks. She was half hunched over the table and her eyebrows were raised to her hairline. "Do you think he'd come visit?" He asked.

"I-I don't know…" Alyssa replied.

Brian furrowed his brows and his posture relaxed. "I would like to talk to him about something."

Alyssa nodded, "I'll let him know. I'm sure he won't have much of a problem." She was really ready to leave now and stood up straight. "Well, um, bye." She said awkwardly. Brian seemed distracted and only nodded as she turned around to leave. She banged her fist against the door and it wasn't three seconds before it opened. Harry was instantly in her view and she let out a breath of relief she didn't even know she was holding.

"How'd it go?" He asked nervously.

Alyssa shook her head, already turning pale and feeling the pain in her stomach kick in again. "Bed – now."

* * *

It was pitch black outside by the time they arrived back to Harry's house. No one was there – thank God – so she wouldn't have to delve into complicated explanations until the next day. She bid a good night to Harry and dragged herself up the flight of stairs to her bedroom. She didn't even have the strength to change out of her clothes. She flopped heavily onto her bed, above the covers, and held a pillow to her chest. She held her eyes closed but sleep would not come. Her body felt cold, her brain felt congested but the air was flowing in and out of her lungs evenly. She didn't want to ever go back to Azkaban ever again if this was the effect it had on her. Alyssa fell into a daze. Hopefully she wouldn't have to go anymore for any sort of reason. Especially to see her dad.

Every time she saw Brian it was like seeing a ghost. She hadn't seen him since she had to be a witness at his trial, shortly before he was sentenced to Azkaban. That was one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do. Although she felt strong hatred for him, although he had set her up for Voldemort, he was still her father. And for some reason, Alyssa would naturally love him. She felt week because of it.

An hour passed and she still lay awake. She was locked inside of her mind, and didn't realize she wasn't sleeping until something moved next to her. Her eyes flew opened and she moved to her back. She couldn't see a thing and it was taking too long for her eyes to adjust to the darkness.

"I'm sorry; did I wake you?" Draco asked quietly.

"I don't think I was even sleeping." She replied. "What are you doing here?"

"Not happy to see me?" She could hear the smirk in his voice.

"I'm always happy to see you; not that I can see you or anything." Alyssa reached out her hand and touched his bare forearm. "Come closer to me." He scooted over and she realized he was sitting up with his back against the headboard. His thigh hit her shoulder and he pulled her limp body over his lap so he could hold her in his arms. She pressed her face into his stomach and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Didn't like Azkaban did you?" He said.

"Not at all."

"Don't worry about it; you can talk about it tomorrow."

"Yeah." She muttered weakly. "I love you, Draco."

He was silent for a second before he replied, "I love you, too." He pulled her more upwards until she was able to drape her arms around his shoulders. "Remember that question I wanted to ask you?" He asked lightly.

Alyssa opened her eyes. It was still dark but she could slightly see his face because of the moonlight pouring in through the window. "Yea," she answered, now feeling more awake than she was.

"Well, I was going to wait for some things to pass by. But with this news about the rebellion I figured I might as well ask now before anything unexpected happens." Alyssa furrowed her brows in thought and flicked her hand to light up the room; it was dim, though, so it wasn't harsh to their eyes.

"What are you talking about?" She asked seriously. He smirked lightly and put a hand to her neck before kissing her hard on the lips. She ran her fingers through his soft hair, only slightly distracted before he pulled away from her. She was confused. He adjusted her position so that he could get off the bed and walk to where his cloak was. He reached into the pocket but his body blocked her vision. He turned around looking slightly nervous and gestured with his index finger for her to come to him. Alyssa scooted off the bed and hopped down to touch the floor. There were three steps in between them.

Draco got down on one knee.

* * *

**A/N:** Oh, yeah... that just happened.


	10. Chapter 10

Draco got down on one knee. Alyssa stopped breathing; her eyes bulged out of her skull; she no longer felt exhausted. Going with the day's events, this was certainly not expected. Going to Azkaban; seeing her father; wedding proposal? If it was a wedding a proposal… was it? Keep breathing. Keep breathing. Alyssa's jaw dropped as her heartbeat sped up to a dull hum in her chest.

"W-what are you doing?" She asked in a voice that was very much not her own.

He let out a nervous laugh, and Alyssa tried to see the humor of the situation. She was about to have a heart attack, for God's sake. She eyed Draco; he looked so cute and innocent and beautiful, dressed in jeans and a button up shirt with rolled up sleeves… and if he wasn't proposing, he would be very dead. He pulled his right hand from behind his back – enclosed in it was a small, black velvet box – while taking her left hand with his free one.

"Alyssa," He said; she gasped and her right hand flew to her mouth. He smiled at her posture but continued anyway, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. "You know as well as I do..." He paused looking for the right words, "My heart doesn't belong to me, anymore. It belongs to you; it always has. And if you wanted it, I'd wish for nothing in exchange. Nothing but your love, your heart… I promise to love you for the rest of my days and beyond that. I _will_ love you forever; every day of forever." He stopped to raise his eyes, and silver met violet. The corners of his mouth uplifted into a smile and he said, "Will you marry me?"

He flipped open the box. Sitting nicely in the black box was a silver band, with three radiant-cut diamonds. On each side were smaller, round diamonds that seemed to sparkle at whatever angle it was held at. He took it out of the box and placed it on her left ring finger, where it fit perfectly. Alyssa gasped again as her eyes moved from the diamond ring on her finger to Draco's eyes, where he waited patiently for her response.

Her lips rose into a smile as her eyes brimmed with tears. "Yes," She said, "Yes, yes – oh my God, yes!" Her breathing had started up again and she was now panting uncontrollably. The brightest, most beautiful smile she had ever seen graced Draco's face and he was standing in an instant, crushing her bones in a tight hug. She raised her left hand and looked over his shoulder at the ring that now sat on her finger in absolute awe. Alyssa never felt better; she would be with Draco forever. She would always belong to him. She smiled and pulled away slightly to look into his eyes.

"I love you." She said happily; although that alone couldn't sum up what she was feeling at all. She repeated those three words over and over before finally claiming his lips. Their lips moved passionately, wanting to remember every second of this moment, only breaking apart when Harry shouted upstairs.

"There better be no shagging up there!"

Alyssa pulled away laughing and Draco rested his forehead on hers, breathing heavily. "I forgot you had to get past Harry." Alyssa said.

"Had to ask for permission," he added. He smiled lightly and ran his hand down the side of her face to rest on her neck. He kissed her forehead and sighed.

"Oh, Draco…" She murmured. She hoisted herself back onto the bed so she could be eye level with him and he snuggled in between her legs. "When did you think about this? We hadn't even talked about it! I had no idea!" She laughed happily and smacked a hand to her forehead.

Draco chuckled softly and pulled her hand away from her face. "I've had the ring, actually." He admitted, "Since the day we all went out to eat after the wedding. After you fainted I had the feeling you might still want to be with me."

Alyssa's jaw dropped, "Might?" She shouted, "Draco, how is that even a question? I told you when I left that we would be together. I'll _always_ love you," She said, repeating the words she had told him three years ago. "Always. And I wouldn't be happy – in this life or the next – if you weren't by my side." She smiled at him and ran her hands up and down his sides, feeling the new weight on her left hand that would never leave.

"I love you." Draco told her. He ran his hands through her soft hair and kissed her again. He leaned forward until her back pressed against the mattress and he ran his hands over her thighs until she had her legs wrapped around his waist. Alyssa was barely breathing, and her heart was pounding in her chest. She gasped loudly when his hands gripped hard onto her hips, and in the battle of biting lips, their tongues met. A low grunt erupted from Draco's chest and he let out a deep lungful of air. He pushed up her shirt and his hands roamed over her ribcage, when Alyssa was suddenly pulled back to earth. They were in Harry's house, when Harry just yelled upstairs at them to make sure they weren't doing any 'shagging'. She would have to push him away before she really lost it and wouldn't turn back.

"Draco," she muttered against his lips. "Wait – stop." He groaned and pulled away so that there was only an inch or two between their faces. "We're in Harry's house – not here."

He rolled his eyes but nodded anyway. "Right; do you want to leave?" He then asked.

Alyssa laughed, but yes, that was exactly what she had in mind. "Please?" He smirked at her and stood up to his full height. He looked expectantly at her and when she finally realized why she said, "Oh – sorry," with a blushing smile. She unhooked her legs from his waist and he helped her stand up. "Let's go."

* * *

It was a seriously foggy and quiet night outside. Perfect conditions, Alyssa found, to be able to meditate freely outside without drawing any sort of unwanted attention. Weird things could happen when she meditated. She sat on Harry's front porch in total concentration. Her legs were crossed Indian style. Her hands rested on her knees with her index fingers folded underneath her thumbs. Her breathing was even, and even though the humidity _was_ awful, the silence and warm air was extremely relaxing, making this much easier.

Harry walked out to the front porch and sat on Alyssa's left side, getting a clear view of her shiny new rock. He smiled as he eyed it for the billionth time. They'd spent the entire day with everyone celebrating and breaking into hysterics about 'the news' of the engagement. Harry was still amused with Brad's reaction, which was nearly having a heart attack that after just getting married himself, his baby sister was now at that same step in her life. Harry smiled to himself and took a drink from his water 

bottle. He subconsciously cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair before looking up at the cloudy sky.

"You can talk to me, you know." Alyssa said suddenly, scaring the crap out of Harry. He jumped nearly a foot off the porch and dropped his water bottle in his lap. He eyed Alyssa wearily, not really sure if he should talk or not. Her breathing was heavier than normal and it seemed like her concentration shouldn't be broken.

"I'm listening." She murmured lightly. The corner of her mouth lifted a small amount into a smile.

He still watched her, seeing her eyelids flutter every few seconds. "I don't want to ruin your concentration."

It was a few seconds before she answered. "It's fine."

Harry sighed and he figured he did sort of want to talk to her anyway. That's why he had initially came outside; he didn't know she was busy meditating – something that she realized she'd have to start doing again if she wanted to be as strong as possible.

"So you really want to do this Demetri thing?" He asked eventually. After the information Alyssa's dad was able to provide, they decided to check it out and get more information from Demetri, much to the dismay of Brad.

"Yes… I want to do this Demetri thing." She answered slowly.

He nodded. "It could be dangerous… if something goes wrong. Demetri might not be as nice to you as you think."

She didn't reply and Harry thought she might've not been listening to her. But suddenly she took a deep intake of breath, and her fists clenched until her knuckles turned white. Harry wasn't sure what was happening, but the way she was reacting, he assumed that this was a normal thing for her. The lights that lit up the porch went out leaving them in darkness save for the dim light coming through the windows. Harry looked around, as if expecting it to start lightning or pouring outside, but the weather stayed the same. The floorboards of the porch felt as if they were shaking but he couldn't tell if it was from her or not. But she eventually let out a heavy breath, her fists unclenched, and her eyes opened.

"Sorry, I was listening. And I'm not exactly afraid of Demetri doing anything." She looked over at him and smiled slightly, shocking him with her now black eyes. From his surprised look she said, "Oh, is it the eyes? They do that sometimes when I meditate." She shrugged and closed her eyes again trying to make it less weird.

"No, it's fine. Just a big difference to get used to."

"It'll fade in a few seconds." She added. "But anyway, you have nothing to worry about with Demetri. He's actually really nice, Brad just doesn't like him 'cause he tried to change me and all."

"I think that's a good reason not to like someone." Harry suggested. Alyssa merely shrugged. She opened her eyes again and received a smile from Harry, showing that her eyes were back to normal.

"Is that what you wanted to talk about?" Alyssa asked curiously.

It was Harry's turn to shrug. "Yeah, I guess… and, well – I'm just really happy for you." She blinked at him and he jutted his head towards her left hand and she smiled brightly.

"Thanks. I'm really glad you feel that way. It means a lot to me." Alyssa said. He smiled but she touched her hand to his shoulder. "I mean it, Harry." She said honestly.

"Have you two thought of a date yet?" He asked.

Alyssa laughed and slapped a hand to her forehead, "I don't even know! The propose was such a surprise in itself… I mean – not to say this isn't what I want, or anything. He said he wanted to make it official before we started fighting again…" she frowned now, "Just in case anything happens. So we'll get married once this crap is over with."

Harry nodded, "I wouldn't worry. You'll be walking down the aisle soon enough."

She laughed again and smiled. "Thanks, Harry. But that's what we said last time, wasn't it? And things didn't go _exactly_ as planned."

"You've got a point, there." Harry admitted. "But you two were always meant to be together; I don't think it's going to be any different this time."

"You think so?" Alyssa asked; Harry nodded and she had to admit she felt a little relaxed. It probably wouldn't last, though. In unison, and without having to say anything, Alyssa and Harry both stood up ready to go back inside. They looked at each other before chuckling quietly and walked inside through the front door. Harry had finally agreed to let everyone over – in the purpose of celebration, of course – so the house was _packed_. Most people were in the kitchen chatting loudly over multiple glasses of wine, but there seemed to be some serious chatter going on in the living room. Draco, Ron, Hermione and Brad all seemed to be going over the plans for when they would go find Demetri, which would be that following weekend.

She went into the kitchen, not wanting to interrupt, and grabbed a plate to have another serving of pasta they had all been devouring for dinner. She was soon accompanied by Draco and she couldn't help but ask, "What were you guys talking about?"

"We're trying to figure out the best way of getting to Italy without drawing too much attention." Draco explained, "We'd like to keep a low profile."

"Well," Alyssa said, she used her hands to warm up the food and walked around the table to get a fork. "We're going in the opposite direction from the Death Eaters, so hopefully we'll avoid them completely." Draco nodded in agreement and looked up from her as Ginny came over.

"Alyssa, what the hell is this I'm hearing about _Vampires_?" She demanded; and at the use of the V-word, several heads turned over to look and see what was going on.

"You didn't tell her?" Draco asked, clearly surprised.

"What do you mean, _I_ didn't tell her? I assumed Harry was gonna tell her," Alyssa snapped. "Harry! Why didn't you tell her?" She looked at Harry who was sitting across the room and he shrugged. His mouth opened and closed without a reply.

"Didn't tell me _what_?" Ginny demanded still. She sat on the other side of the table and waited impatiently for an answer.

Draco shook his head disapprovingly, "I can't believe you didn't tell her." He said sarcastically, now amused.

Alyssa ignored Draco and squinted her eyes at Ginny, "Could you at least keep your voice down? Not everyone needs to know about it." Ginny crossed her arms over her chest and waited for her to continue. "All right… we needed some information about these Death Eaters, so we're gonna talk to an old family friend of mine, Demetri, a Vampire, to get it." She explained in one breath.

"Oh," Ginny said calmly. "That's not as bad as I was expecting."

"Why were you expecting anything?" Alyssa asked. Ginny shrugged, and looked over her shoulders realizing she had gotten the attention from everyone in the house, including Alyssa's friends from Romania who had no idea about Demetri either.

Alyssa sighed; she was tired of having to explain things multiple times over. "Sorry I didn't tell you guys, but as he said," she explained pointing to Draco, "We want to keep this as quiet as possible."

"So that's why you're meditating." Alex said. "I knew something was up; you haven't done that in _ages_." She felt the slight glare coming from Brad and chose to ignore it.

"Yes, that's why."

"I don't think it's a fantastic idea to be running around Vampires, Alyssa." Trish said.

Suddenly a burst of excited laughter escaped from Brad, "Thank you!" He shouted. He rolled his eyes and shook his head, with a ridiculous looking smile on his face.

Alyssa scoffed and glared at him, "Everything will be fine, we've got it all figured out. "She looked hopefully at Harry and he bowed his head confidently, much to her relief. "Really, there's nothing to worry about."

"Right, nothing to worry about," Brad started rambling, "Just a bloodthirsty Vampire. Oh, right! Who already has tried to kill you!"

"_Change_ me." Alyssa corrected.

Ron finally stepped in, "Would the both of you stuff it? We've had this conversation at least six times already, we get the point." He snapped. The room went silent but it seemed as if Alyssa's friends were having their own quiet conversation. They were exchanging looks between themselves and Alyssa, and slowly each of them nodded mutely.

"We want to help." Dan said.

"No _way_," Alyssa said, immediately disagreeing. "I'm not getting any of you in this… and would you please stop having these silent confrontations? It irks me out."

Alex rolled his eyes, "We want you in this as much as you want _us_ in this. It doesn't matter. We want to help, and you'll never be sorry to have extra help on your hands." At this, Harry seemed to perk up a bit. He restrained himself from agreeing aloud. Alyssa sighed, frustrated. This was why she didn't want to tell them; because then they'd want in on the action, and she could _not_ risk letting them do that. She would never forgive herself if something happened to any of them. She ran a hand over her face and closed her eyes.

"Please," She pleaded, "I can't let you throw yourselves into this for no reason. If anything at all were to happen to you I don't know what -"

"We're all adults here, Alyssa. You don't have to _let_ us do anything; we're not exactly asking for permission." Alex said with a smirk on his face. Alyssa glared at him. She sighed again and sat down at the counter next to Ginny.

"Besides," Jamie started, "You're the last one who should be going off risking your life. I'm pretty sure Draco wants a living Bride walking down the aisle."

Alyssa's jaw dropped, "OI!" Draco shouted from across the room. Everyone looked at him, shocked, because he had been silent for the entirety of the discussion. "Bloody hell; let's not talk about the death of her, if you don't mind. She's more capable of fighting whatever's out there than anyone else in this sodding room." Alyssa looked over at him – glowing brightly on the inside – to see that he was seriously pissed. "I don't know if you've seen what she's capable of, but she's the last person here to worry about any sort of mishap."

She looked back at Jamie who had her head down and remained silent. "Can't you just understand why I don't want you guys involved?" Alyssa asked them.

"Alyssa does have a point." Brad finally said.

"Easy for you to say," Alex argued, "You've got a permanent position in this."

Alex seemed quite pleased with himself and crossed his arms over his broad chest, but Brad shook his head. "No. I don't." He said.

Alyssa's head whipped to his side of the room, "W-what?" she asked weakly. She had always pictured them being side by side, and she observed his face, looking for some sign that he wasn't saying what she thought he was saying.

"I don't have a permanent position in this." Brad said again. He seemed to be very determined to avoid looking her in the eye. "You're not the only one worried about someone getting hurt… Seeing Demetri is as far as I go."

Her heart thudded in her chest. She was confused and angry. How could he leave her side? How could he expect her to do this without him? "Why?"

"I'm having a kid, Alyssa. If something were to happen to me… I want him to have a father." He finally lifted his head and their eyes met. Alyssa couldn't believe it; she tried not to show off how abandoned she suddenly felt and looked away. She let her eyes wander over the pattern of the counter she was leaning on and sighed heavily. What progress they had made during that discussion; her brother wouldn't be with her, and she had six more people to look after.

"So, is that settled then?" Alex asked.

Alyssa glared at him for what felt like the hundredth time that evening. She silently excused herself from the table she was sitting at with Ginny and walked out of the room saying, "Do whatever the hell you want." She walked upstairs and into her room where she shut the door behind her. Perhaps she was overreacting, but she felt like everyone was being just a tad bit ridiculous. No one just threw themselves into a battle, especially when you've never done anything like that before. They'd never had to fight for their lives before – or even fought in general. They didn't realize the foolish decision they were making by deciding to involve themselves in the situation.

There was a knock on the door and Alyssa groaned loudly in protest. "Just let me in." Harry said from the other side. She banged her head twice against the wooden door before finally opening it. Harry stood with an annoyed look on his face, waiting for her to invite him in. She didn't do so, and instead walked over to her bed to lie down. "I know that didn't exactly go the way you wanted it to."

Alyssa closed her eyes and pressed a hand to her forehead. "Really?"

He could tell the obvious sarcasm in her voice and got onto the bed as well to sit next to her. "Really," He confirmed. "This isn't the worst thing that could happen. Maybe they'll change their mind once we reach Demetri."

"I doubt it." Alyssa mumbled.

Harry smirked a bit, "Yeah, me too." He leaned back until his back was touching the mattress, and wrapped an arm around Alyssa's shoulders. "C'mon, cheer up." He said, "This is supposed to be a day of celebration."

"Ugh," Alyssa replied. "I feel utterly stupid."

"That's all right," Harry rationalized, "I'm sure Malfoy's used to that by now." Alyssa laughed and dropped her hand to her side. She rested her head on his shoulder, now much calmer than she had been before. It was very relaxing to lie like this, she thought. "You just need to relax, Alyssa." Harry murmured.

"You're probably right."

"I'm always right." He stated. "Maybe you can come to the gym tomorrow and watch us beat the crap out of each other."

At this, Alyssa perked up a bit, "Is that really what you men do in your spare time?"

Harry contemplated for a moment, "Pretty much."

"Hm, that doesn't sound too bad."

* * *

"Well, I must say, I am very, very, _very_ glad you invited me for this." Jamie commented. She dipped her hand into her bag of chips and pulled one out, bringing it to her lips and munching happily. "This is my idea of entertainment."

Alyssa rolled her eyes and sighed, "Yes, I know. It's exactly why I brought you." They were currently sitting on the floor of the gym, propped up against its wall of mirrors, watching Harry and Ron do exactly what Harry said they'd do – beat the crap out of each other. Alyssa figured that since they were best friends, they'd go slightly easy on each other, not wanting either of them to get hurt. Apparently, she was wrong. Each spell cast, each punch thrown, each tackle was all done as if this were a proper duel.

"Ooh!" Jamie exclaimed, "Nice right hook!"

"This is so absurd," Ginny droned on the other side of Alyssa. "What is the point of training like this, if they'll be too beaten up to actually do anything physical?"

"Eh," Alyssa said with a shrug, "They'll be fine. Their bodies are used to this. Plus that's the great thing about magic – healing." She winced as Ron hit Harry in the stomach. Harry recovered quickly and lunged forward, tackling him to the ground with a loud thud. But Ron quickly and easily brought his legs up and kicked Harry off of him, sending him flying onto his back. Harry pulled his wand out of the waistband of his pants and wordlessly cast a spell at Ron. He was hit just as he stood in right position, and went spinning through the air until he landed hard on his stomach.

The three girls all howled loudly and Harry jumped up with a wolfish grin on his face. Ron huffed angrily and pulled out his wand firing back a curse as well. Harry blocked the first one but Ron sent the second so fast, he hardly had time to block it and landed on his back.

"This is so intense," Jamie said, trying to control her laughter. She grabbed another chip and popped it into her mouth.

"Give me some of those," Ginny muttered. She reached her arm over Alyssa and snagged the bag before grabbing a handful of chips and passing it back over. Alyssa rolled her eyes. She looked up as the door to their right opened, and Draco poked his head in.

"What the hell is going on? We can hear everything from outside." He said as he stepped in and shut the door behind him. He was in a t-shirt, baggy sweatpants and sneakers, looking ready to work himself.

Ginny shrugged at Alyssa's side. "Must not have put up the silence charms. You want in on this?" She asked with a smirk. The three girls looked up at Draco who was already immersed in the fight. He stood leaning tall against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest; it was hard to tell if he was ignoring the question or simply couldn't hear her.

They looked back at the fighting pair to see that they were close together now. Their wands were nowhere to be seen and were throwing punches at each other, yet each of them were blocking perfectly. Harry finally spun around and squatted down in the same movement; he kicked out a leg and took out Ron's legs from underneath him, sending him to the floor on his back.

"All right, all right. I'm done." Ron snapped. He panted heavily on the floor, not moving from his position. Harry threw up his fist triumphantly and began walking away until Ron grabbed his ankle and pulled. He practically landed flat on his face.

"That was cheap." Harry mumbled into the floor.

The three girls burst into applause and laughter, cheering both of them on. "Good job boys!" Jamie shouted enthusiastically. While they cheered loudly they didn't notice Draco throw his water bottle to the floor, or hear him say 'My turn'. They didn't realize he had even walked onto the mats until Harry got into a defensive position with his wand at the ready.

Alyssa stopped laughing and Ginny and Jamie soon followed suit. Ron sat next to Ginny, now looking excited as he drank from his water bottle.

"Is it normal that I'm a bit nervous about this one?" Alyssa asked Ginny.

"Let's just hope they stick to the wands." She replied. Alyssa rolled her eyes and Jamie laughed, and without warning, Harry and Draco were at it. It was hard to keep up because neither of them were shouting any sort of curses or charms; they were both silent as they moved speedily to dodge their opponent while throwing something back. Alyssa didn't even blink, afraid that if she had she would miss the whole thing. The sound was being blocked out by Jamie's loud munching in her ear, until a loud gong sounded and rang through the whole room. Alyssa, Ginny, Jamie and Ron all covered their ears and watched in awe as Draco held his hands raised, a ball of something neon green forming in between his hands. It got bigger and bigger until he aimed with his wand at Harry. With a quick flick of Harry's wand, a dark blue light shot out and met the ray of green with a loud bang.

"Bloody hell!" Ginny shouted. Her jaw was hanging opened.

"This is fantastic!" Ron hooted excitedly. His eyes never left the dueling pair as they started up fighting again, shooting curses back and forth. As everyone watched they'd let out the 'Oh!' and 'Ah!' and winced loudly if it looked like something hurt.

It didn't look too dangerous until Draco lost his wand. Draco aimed a curse at Harry only to have him doge it. Harry ducked and when he stood up he sprinted forward a few steps until he had both of Draco's wrists in his hand. Alyssa's jaw dropped and the rest of them were silent. His entire upper body flexed as Harry twisted him around and kicked him forward, taking Draco's wand away in the same movement. He did not seem discouraged though.

Harry threw Draco's wand to the floor and took two steps forward. A jet of silver light shot out of the tip of his wand; Draco lunged to the left, and again to the right before he reached Harry. He grabbed Harry's forearm, and twisted his entire arm around until he was backwards and Harry grunted in protest.

"Is it a little wrong that I'm a tad turned on right now?" Alyssa mumbled.

"I'm right there with you, mate." Jamie replied.

Draco gave his arm another twist before the wand fell loosely out of his hand. Harry grunted again before throwing his left arm backwards, and hit Draco in the jaw with his elbow. Draco let go of him and backed up a step; Harry spun around and threw a right hook, which Draco easily caught. As he held Harry's fist with his left hand, he punched him in the stomach and again in the cheek. The audience winced.

With his left hand, Harry grabbed Draco's throat and shoved him backwards. While Draco was off balance, he dove to the ground, grabbed his wand, and muttered a curse. Draco went flying, and didn't stop until his back hit the opposite wall and fell down to his feet. The glass cracked underneath his weight. Still, he stood to his full height, much to the surprise of everyone watching, including Harry. He took a step forward but Harry held up his hands.

"I think that's enough," He said slowly, now breathing heavily. "For me anyway. That last punch threw me off."

Draco chuckled and walked to the side of the room to grab his water bottle.

"That was wicked!" Jamie shouted and began clapping. Alyssa laughed and Ginny rolled her eyes, mentally thanking the lord no one got hurt. Jamie put down her chips and stood up, making her way over to the rack of swords. Alyssa followed suit to see what the curiosity was about. "Man, did you see that crap?" Jamie asked when Alyssa reached her.

Alyssa laughed and nodded. "Oh, yeah. I've never seen Draco do anything like that." They both grabbed a sword and swung it around, admiring the weapon.

"You've got one heck of a fiancé, Alyssa." Jamie commented with a smirk. Alyssa grinned. She gripped the sword in her hand; she had never really been taught how to use a sword. She could use a dagger, but a sword was entirely different. Brad had only showed her a few basics. She cursed loudly; the mere thought of Brad was suddenly making her angry.

"What is it?" Jamie asked. She put the sword back down, considering she'd barely ever held a sword in her life, let alone knew how to use it.

Alyssa shook her head, "It's just Brad. I'm still pissed he's not gonna be there with me… us." She corrected herself.

"At least it's for a good reason. I'd probably do the same thing if I was him."

"That's true." Alyssa nodded in agreement. She swirled the handle around in her fingers, making the sword spin, until she shot her arm out and to the left where she held it strong. A warm hand suddenly gripped her wrist and she took a sharp intake of breath.

"Watch out with that thing," Draco said from directly behind her. He dropped her wrist as she turned around and smiled lightly. "So, did you enjoy that little show?"

"Hell yeah." She said, she held their eye contact as she hung the sword back up. "In fact… I might have to require you do that little stunt very often. It was pretty damn sexy."

Draco's smile turned into a smirk, "Oh, really?"

"Really." She confirmed. She took a step closer to him and put her hands on his hips. His entire body was radiating with heat and she tried to remember that other people were still in the room. He turned her body and pressed her back against the wall. She suddenly felt so tiny against him after just watching him fight like that… and she loved it. He was so intimidating but she still wanted him so badly, at that very moment. She brought one hand up from his chest to grab his neck and pull his head down so she could finally kiss him. She pressed her lips hard to his and immediately opened her mouth against him. His chest rumbled against hers as he chuckled lowly and leaned forward, pressing his hips against hers. Much to her protest, she couldn't help but moan.

Draco pulled away slightly but trailed his lips down her jaw line and to her neck. "You're going to have to be quieter than that, love." He murmured against her skin.

One of his hands was flat against the wall above her shoulder, while the other found its way to her chest. He felt the outside of her bra against her shirt and squeezed gently, causing her to gasp and grip a handful of his hair. He smirked and silenced her with a kiss. Alyssa had completely forgotten what room they were in and that there were other people in it; she had completely lost control. Unintentionally, her free hand roamed to the front of his pants where she slowly felt his hardness through his sweatpants.

"Alyssa," he whispered; he bit onto her lip and took a step forward, causing her to have to tilt her head back until it hit the wall. He pulled away again and his breath brushed against her lips as he spoke, "That's not nice."

She smiled slightly and was suddenly brought back to earth as Jamie loudly said, "Are they _always_ like this?"

Draco growled and stepped back from Alyssa, yet didn't turn around. They both looked him over to make sure he was presentable, and when they looked back up, Draco glared at her.

"Sorry," Alyssa said weakly, apologizing to both Draco and the others in the room. Draco rolled his eyes and stepped away from her again to turn around and ran his hand through his hair, composing himself. Ginny rolled her eyes as well, but Jamie had the thickest smirk on her face.

"Right, well I'm going to hit the showers." Draco mumbled.

Alyssa's jaw dropped, "After this little stunt you decide to tell me _that_?" She shouted. He turned slightly before reaching the doors to send her a smirk and she huffed loudly before starting after him. Jamie had to hold her back.

* * *

Harry stuffed the paper with the directions into his pocket and sighed. This would hopefully be quicker than they intended. He crossed the room and pushed past Alyssa to grab his water bottle. She was sitting at the counter eating a donut, drinking coffee, and reading the paper looking for any spot of 

trouble – whether it had to do with the Death Eaters or crappy weather. It was a little past five in the morning; they'd decided on leaving early so that they could get to Demetri by nightfall. Ron sat on the couch yawning and rubbing his eyes; and Hermione was with Alyssa drinking coffee as well. Draco, Ginny, Blaise and Brad were to arrive at any minute.

"So we all know where we're going?" Harry asked for the sixteenth time that morning.

Alyssa groaned and hit her head on the table, "Yes, Harry. We've all got it."

"I just don't want anyone getting lost." He put his water bottle in his backpack and zipped it up before tossing it in front of the door. "And remember: _No_ apparating until we're all together and out of the country."

"Yes, sir." Ron said with a salute. Since their group alone was so big, they were splitting up. Harry, Ron and Hermione were together, Ginny was with Blaise, and Alyssa was with Draco and Brad. Demetri was in a small village in Zealand, Denmark. It wasn't too far away, but they didn't want to draw any attention whatsoever. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Alyssa merely yawned, and considering Harry was the only one purely conscious, he shook his head impatiently and walked over to open it. The four people they had been waiting for had arrived. Ginny and Draco seemed to be the only two people who were wide awake; it wouldn't have been a surprise if Blaise was still actually asleep.

Alyssa plopped the last bit of her donut into her mouth and gulped down the rest of her coffee. She walked by Draco, greeting him with a kiss on the cheek, and grabbed her coat from the coat rack. As she put it on she turned to the group who seemed to come to life now that they had to leave.

"All right, everyone knows where they're going?" She asked. They all nodded silently. "Now, we'll be on the train so we'll be off contact, but in case there's an emergency, Harry has however many-"

"Eighty-three," He said.

Alyssa blinked. "Right, eighty-three Aurors on call in case anything goes wrong and we'll find out right away. We should all hit Denmark by two, which is meet up time, and by then it shouldn't be long until we get to Zealand." She stopped to glance at her watch; it was nearing six. "Let's go, then."

Everyone stood from their positions. Alyssa tossed Harry his bag and picked up her own, throwing it over her shoulder. As they all filed out of Harry's house they hugged each person they passed, as if worried about seeing each other again.

"Ron taught you how to use the tickets for the ferry, right?" Alyssa asked Ginny.

Ginny nodded, "I got it down, no worries. Just wait until we have to do this with Polyjuice." She said while rolling her eyes.

Alyssa grimaced, "Yeah, not really looking forward to it." They hugged each other tightly and Ginny and Blaise walked out through the front door. Alyssa, Draco and Brad were left. Harry suggested they take a map but the three of them were all positive they'd be fine. Alyssa hugged Harry before she left.

"Be safe." He murmured in her ear.

"I know," Alyssa replied, "Don't want to save me a third time, is that it?" She asked sarcastically. He grinned at her and nodded his head, and she, Draco and Brad walked out the door.

Three hours later, Brad, Draco and Alyssa were seated on an Amtrak train. Brad had fallen asleep completely once it started moving, but Alyssa and Draco were now wide awake. She had grabbed a new issue of the Muggle paper and was now reading over it, in case she missed anything important.

"So how do you know Demetri?" Draco eventually asked.

Alyssa rolled her eyes. Draco had barely ever mentioned Demetri after learning he was completely 'head over heels' for her. "He was my dad's friend." She answered, "We met a lot of people that way – like Lucius – through him, I mean. He was over a lot. When I first met him I thought he was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen." She laughed remembering the way she admired him all those years ago.

"Oh, really?" Draco said, seeming interested. "Did you not want him to change you?"

"I was thirteen, Draco." Alyssa said. "I didn't know what I wanted, and anyway, how much of a relationship could we have when he looks twenty-seven? Besides… he _was_ the most beautiful thing I'd seen." She held Draco's hand in hers and intertwined their fingers. I'm glad I decided to wait." She said, giving him a meaningful look. "But he was at our house all the time, as I said, and my entire family noticed the way he'd look at me. It was hard not to really, it was so… so – I don't even have a word to explain. You'd have some competition, though." She said teasingly.

He didn't crack a smile, "I highly doubt that."

"So even though my dad had a fascination for all things Dark, he definitely didn't want his thirteen year-old girl to become a Vampire. I had no choice – even if I wanted to be one – because Demetri could make me do anything he wanted without much persuasion. So I was shipped away for a while, and it was taken care of. I don't really know the details – he'd be able to tell you more." She nodded her head towards Brad who was snoring lightly.

"Do you really think he won't try to do it again?" Draco asked. He gripped her hand and she thought he might had convinced himself that Demetri would try to change her; but she shook her head.

"No. He won't want that much trouble, especially since he'll be with his clan." She was more than positive he wouldn't try anything. Even more positive due to the fact that a certain Boy Who Lived would be present; it was downright unheard of to start with Harry these days, not since he'd defeated You-Know-Who. She looked over at Draco; his eyes were closed and his head was resting back on their seat. His hair was getting longer – his bangs reached the tips of his cheeks. "What are you thinking?" She asked. "You're not nervous or anything, are you?"

He opened his eyes which were a dark grey now. His head shook only a bit from side to side. "No… I was actually just thinking it's about time you move in with me."

Alyssa had to clench her jaw shut tightly so it wouldn't fall open. He just kept on coming out with this stuff. After she got over the shock, the corners of her mouth lifted into a bright grin. "Really?"

Draco nodded, "Really."

She glanced away still smiling and snuggled into him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and she rested her head on his shoulder, tucking her leg in between his. "That sounds awesome." She said enthusiastically. "I'm really gonna have to learn my way around then, aren't I?"

"It's not that hard once you get the hang of it." He replied. Alyssa rolled her eyes; that was a lot easier said than done.

By nightfall, the group was together again. No one had any problems during their trips, except for maybe a bit of fumbling with tickets and Muggle money. Alyssa looked at her watch, which had become her new routine. They were right on schedule. She looked around their unfamiliar settings; they were in a middle of a field which was surrounded by tall trees. They had apparated from Zealand to the coordinates her father had given her. She glanced at Harry, only slightly being able to see him through the darkness.

"Well?" He asked.

Alyssa shrugged looking at the group. "I don't know; we're at the right coordinates."

Ginny huffed and stomped her foot, "You don't think he gave you the wrong ones, do you?"

"I highly doubt that." She said, instantly shaking her head. She sighed again looking around; in between a section of tall trees was a small part that seemed to reveal the start of a trail. "Maybe we should go that way?" She asked. No one had any objections so they set out, crossing the field to reach the path.

It was mostly dirt with vines, tree roots, and branches everywhere. It was completely dark now so they pulled out their wands to light up the way. Alyssa held her palm out and an orb of white light surfaced; it bobbed above their heads as they walked. Alyssa and Harry were in the front of the group, Draco and Brad were in the back – wands at the ready. They walked for about twelve minutes before Harry tripped on a root and fell into open space. It was a meadow; a small clearing of moonlit grass with a small stream running down the middle.

"Where are we?" Ginny asked.

"I think we're here." Alyssa said warily.

"Look around," Brad called from the back. The others didn't know what he meant, but Alyssa searched the woods, squinting her eyes trying to focus better through the darkness. Even with the pitch blackness of the woods, Alyssa began to see pale faces looming through the trees. She turned around to face the group.

"It's all me from here; they don't know who you are so they won't trust you." She glanced at Harry who was beginning to worry, and then looked at Draco whose expression was void of any emotion. She sighed and turned back around. "If anything goes wrong, you'll know it."

"Be careful." Brad said sternly.

Alyssa nodded, and without looking back, crossed the meadow. She hopped over the small stream and walked five feet from the very edge of the woods. There was hissing in the air that cut through the dense silence. She waited and felt a chilly breeze pass over her.

"Is that really who I think it is?" A smooth, deep voice spoke. It was so quiet she wondered if anyone could hear it, but the hissing began again so she knew that it was the rest of Demetri's clan talking amongst themselves.

"Demetri?" Alyssa called, staring expectantly into the woods. She was startled as a lone figure walked silently out of the crowd of trees; she would never hear him – or anyone like him, for that matter – coming.

The voice breathed out in a low hiss, "Alyssa…"

* * *

**A/N:** Once again, i'll be away for the next week, so I got this one out quickly so you had something before I left. I hope you enjoy it! I'll get right back to it once i get back, and thanks for the awesome reviews!


	11. Chapter 11

Her reaction to seeing Demetri was the same as when she had met him the first time so many years ago. Her heart fluttered in her chest and her knees turned to jello and her breathing was unsteady; his beauty was absolutely hypnotizing. It was almost unnatural. Demetri surprisingly – given his reputation – was not very tall. He reached around five foot and nine inches. He had pin straight, jet black hair that fell to his chin and his eyes were gold, except for on certain occasions where they were blood red. His skin was white, paler than anyone Alyssa had ever seen, and was only blemished by the dark shadows under his eyes. At that moment he was dressed all in black, with a straight cloak that touched the ground. His lips turned up into a smile, baring his teeth and a shiver ran down Alyssa's spine.

He repeated her name and in the dull silence, it echoed around the small meadow. "What are you doing here?" he then asked.

Alyssa furrowed her brows, "Did you know I was coming?"

Demetri gave her a sheepish grin, "Of course I did. That's Brad back there, isn't it?" he said. His eyes never left her so she was baffled that he knew that Brad was there as well. He didn't wait for her to nod and stepped forward, looking as if he wanted a hug. She instantly took a cautious step back and he smirked. "It's going to be like that?"

"Sorry," She said with a shrug, "But it would make all of them pretty upset if I let you touch me. Especially Brad, you can imagine."

He nodded. "I could still give you what you wanted, you know. In fact," His eyes ran up and down her body, "It would be a much better idea now, seeing as you've… grown up."

Alyssa rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "I was thirteen – hardly capable of making a proper decision." She said haughtily. Would people keep reminding her of that for the rest of her life? "Besides, I'm pretty much taken anyway." She raised her left hand and flashed the new ring.

"You're married?"

"Engaged."

"Oh." Demetri said, not seeming in any way disappointed. "To one of them back there?" He asked, his eyes now leaving hers.

Without turning around to see the group she said, "The blonde."

"Oh, how pretty." He said with a smile that bared his teeth again.

"Anyway, this isn't why I came to see you." Alyssa started, wanting to leave the topic of her fiancé.

Demetri nodded, "I could tell from the elite crew you have." He walked silently to the side and Alyssa watched as he sat down on a broken tree trunk. "What can I do you for?"

"I was wondering if you knew anything about these Death Eaters that have begun rising up again. We want to know what we're up against."



He nodded again, showing that this news was familiar to him. "Well, there's not too much activity around here… but there's word that they want to take Scar-head, over there, out. They're worried that he's going to be the next Minister and that he'll throw their families into jail just for spite."

"So this is – once again – all about Harry?" Alyssa asked, completely surprised. She figured it'd be some sort of rise to power thing.

"Well, yeah." Demetri replied as if it were obvious. "I mean – it's clear they want revenge for the death of their _Lord. _I expect it might be a power thing too," He added, as if reading her mind, "Y'know… take you all out one by one."

"Why now?"

At this he looked somewhat offended, "I may be a Vampire but that doesn't mean I'm one of _them_, do you really expect me to know?" She rolled her eyes at his sensitivity. "Besides – that should be obvious, as well. They need the time to build up ranks. The majority of their numbers have been defeated since the death of Voldemort, so it'd take a while to become what they are now."

Alyssa's eyes narrowed, "Is it really that bad?"

"Nothing you can't handle, I'm sure. But they've been doing some serious damage without the Ministry noticing in the Muggle world. That's what you need to be looking out for. And now that they know you've come to see me they'll be starting their –"

"Wait, wait, wait… they _knew_ we were coming?" She asked, completely dumbfounded. "Did _you_ know we were coming?"

Demetri rolled his eyes, "Word travels, you know. Why else did you come to see me? Because we hear things you don't. They've got eyes, more than anything - which was what I was starting to say… They know you're here so they're going to make their move. You should attack before they're ready for you; be one step ahead of them; that whole thing." He explained waving his hand around.

"This is just fantastic." Alyssa explained, she was already half-turning around to get back to the group and explain what she'd heard.

"What, no hug or anything?" His velvet voice asked. A chill ran down her spine and her body froze mid-turn. He was already standing about a foot away from her and she could already feel the cold of his body. She stiffly turned back around to look at him and was shocked by the closeness. His golden eyes shined brightly in the dark and she felt herself transfixed. He took one stride towards her and wrapped his arms around her stiff body. His entire being was frozen and solid, and her teeth almost began to chatter. Demetri smiled at her reaction and whispered into her ear. "_I could still do it… if you wanted_."

It was the only sound she could hear, it was as if she were dreaming, and suddenly his ice cold lips ran over her neck. Someone from behind her said her name and her eyes popped opened as she stumbled backwards.

She turned around, "B-brad." She stammered, looking at her older brother who had his wand out. She looked back at Demetri, whose eyes had suddenly turned solid black and she gasped.

"Nice seeing you, Brad." Demetri said quite civilly.

Brad forced a smile. "I wish I could say the same. Thanks for your help but we must be going, now."

Alyssa didn't find the strength in her legs to begin to move, but Brad grabbed her hand and took her back to the other side of the meadow. Her eyes never left Demetri until he disappeared back into the darkness of the woods.

"I knew something like that would happen," Brad vented as they walked back from the way they came. "I knew it. And I can't believe I even let you convince me to do this; that could've ended horribly." He rolled his eyes at himself and tightened his grip on Alyssa's elbow, as if afraid that if he let go she would go running back to Demetri.

"I'm fine Brad – I'm fine!" She snapped trying to yank her elbow out of his grip. "Would you just let go of me?" She scowled darkly at him but had to admit that her legs still felt like jello. She finally used her free arm to reach over and slap his shoulder and out of surprise, he let her go. She instantly took a few steps away from him and walked over to Draco's side where she took his hand without hesitation, welcoming its warmth.

"So what do we do now?" Ginny asked loudly, "Seeing as that was a complete waste of time."

"It wasn't a complete waste of time." Alyssa snapped, "They're after Harry again," Everyone groaned unsurprised at this news, "But they know we're here, and they're going to make their move soon; which means we have to do it first."

"What did I say?" Ron shouted with a smile on his face, "I told you!"

"Yes, you did." Alyssa replied monotonously. "And another thing – their numbers are big. Real big; and they've been stirring things up in the Muggle world that _you_ don't know about." She said pointedly to Harry.

Harry paused mid-stride and looked warily at her. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not exactly sure –"

"She was too busy falling for Demetri's charismatic _charm_." Brad growled.

"You know what I say?" Hermione asked suddenly, "How about we just get a hotel for the night. We all need to rest, and figure out our next move."

"No!" Ron whined childishly, "Let's go kill those bastards!"

Everyone ignored him. "She's right." Ginny said. "Let's head back to town and find a place to stay. We can head back tomorrow."



* * *

Three hours later, Alyssa found herself standing on the balcony of the Inn they were staying at. Hermione had booked three rooms without any trouble and – "I'm sure you can divvy this out for yourselves," she had said – they split up. Draco was busy in the shower, and Alyssa was smoking a cigarette she had bummed from some random guy walking down the aisle. It started pouring all of a sudden, and she'd had to dash under the roof; though not quick enough to keep herself dry. Her hair dripped down her shoulders, and she had taken off her jacket to avoid getting colder from the wetness.

The plan they had figured out before heading for bed was simple. They would leave as soon as there was sunlight, go back to the Ministry to gather up troops, and hopefully _finally_ end what should have ended three years ago. While they discussed what their next steps were, the debate of whether Brad would join them or not was once again breached. The only reason he wanted to fight was to protect Alyssa – which he now thought was strongly needed because of her experience with Demetri. And during that argument came the really shocking news.

Hermione was pregnant.

She had found out three days earlier; only she and Ron knew. Ginny screamed in delight, Harry turned a shade of purple, Draco's jaw dropped, and Alyssa soon realized that Hermione would also not be present with them.

Alyssa rubbed her eyes, now ready to go to bed, and tossed her cigarette over the edge of the balcony. She turned around and entered the room she and Draco were staying in. It was relatively small; one bed, one bathroom, one television. But it would do for the seven hours they'd be staying there. She sat at the edge of the bed and leaned over, gathering her hair together in one hand so she could squeeze out the water.

The bathroom door opened revealing Draco in nothing but a towel and dripping with water; Alyssa rolled her eyes. He was downright disgusting. He looked quizzically at her and sat down next to her on the bed.

"Why are you wet?" He asked simply.

"It's raining outside." She murmured. She sat back up and her hair cascaded down her back. He grinned at her and kissed her forehead, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"Is everything all right?"

Alyssa shrugged and closed her eyes as he ran his fingers through her hair and over her scalp. "Just tired, I guess. It's been a long day." He nodded understandingly and she leaned into him. Even through the chilled drops of water, the warmth was radiating from his skin. She ran her lips across his slick shoulder and wrapped her arm around his waist. "Did I really make that much of a scene?"

His body tensed up against her and for the first time she realized he had actually been worrying about her before. "It's nothing that I didn't expect to happen." He said softly, "But it happened very fast, and your brother kind of…" He paused looking for the word.

"Freaked out?" She suggested; he nodded.

"I think you would've been fine." Draco said confidently. "Although I wasn't exactly happy with the situation either."

"So when do you think we're going to get moving on this?" Alyssa asked curiously.

Draco shook his head. "I don't think we should talk about this here."

"Right, we're being watched." She said nodding. She stood up from the bed and walked to the window; there was hardly anyone outside, but she still felt that uncomfortable feeling as if someone _was_ actually watching them. She pulled the string to close the blinds and turned back around to look at Draco. She walked over to him and ran her hands threw his wet hair. She kissed his forehead and murmured "I love you."

Draco wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him so that she was straddling him. "I know you're worried…" He said softly, "It's natural. But I promise you everything _will_ be all right." He smiled slightly and pushed her shirt up so he could run his hands over her skin, and kissed the scar on her abdomen. "A _real_ promise this time; no bollocks."

She rolled her eyes, "Good." She ran her hands through his hair and pulled slightly, tilting his head back so she could look into his silver eyes. They closed as she ran her lips over his and his arms tightened around her waist. There was a clanking sound outside that diverted Alyssa's attention. She pulled away and turned her head to look at the door.

"Don't tell me you're paranoid, now?" Draco murmured.

She ignored his protests and got off his lap to walk back to the door of the room. In quick movements she opened both locks and pulled the door open. There was no movement at all outside - no residents, no sound from other rooms, no cars driving by on the road – only the rain falling from the sky. Alyssa stepped to the balcony and narrowed her eyes looking for any sort of sign of something abnormal. There was nothing.

"Alyssa, would you get back in and shut the door?" Draco asked from inside. He stepped to the doorway and waited impatiently.

"Alyssa?" A voice called.

Her head shot up and she leaned over the balcony to see Harry's body leaning over from the next floor. "Harry! Did you hear it, too?" She saw him nod and in one second he had disappeared and reappeared right next to her.

"I did. I don't see anything, though."

"Can't we all just agree that it was just a _sound_?" Draco whined.

Harry and Alyssa both ignored him. "I think you should leave… now." Alyssa said, lowering her voice a significant amount. "We're being watched, and I have a bad feeling about all of us staying here at once. We don't want to involve the Muggles."

"You're right." Harry replied. He looked cautiously over his shoulders as if they were being overheard at that moment. He nodded his head to her room and they all scuttled inside, much to the protest of Draco. "They're probably patrolling the amount of magic that's being given off; they might be able to tell if we apparate out of here."

Alyssa shook her head, "No 'we'. You, Ron, and Hermione should leave now. Tell my brother to come down here," ("Oh, _come on_," Draco moaned.) "I don't want anyone by themselves." She paused and bit her lip as she thought. "I'll put up a shield, they'll think it's just protection but you'll be able to apparate out of here unnoticed."

"It'll have to be a big shield." Harry said.

"I'll manage."

Harry nodded, "Where will we meet tomorrow? Actually… I'll go straight to the Ministry to tell everyone what's going on and formulate a plan. The rest of you can go to the Manor," His eyes briefly met Draco's for confirmation, "And Draco will meet me there."

"Lockdown?" Alyssa whined, putting a hand on her hip.

"Just until we get back to you with a plan; it won't be long. I promise."

They both paused, agreeing on what was to happen. Harry leaned forward for a hug and began to say, "In case anything –" But Alyssa interrupted by taking a step back away from him. "I'll see you tomorrow." She said calmly. "Now get out of here so I can do my magic."

Harry sent her a wolfish grin, "Be safe." He said, and with a _pop_ he was gone.

"Was this all quite necessary?" Draco asked.

"He needs to be safe. Now shut up." He rolled his eyes and went into the bathroom to get dressed. He didn't bother with pajamas considering they'd be leaving in a few hours, anyway. Alyssa, meanwhile, stepped to the door and pressed her hand to it. She closed her eyes and just as Brad appeared in the room her fingertips started to glow.

"What's going on?" He asked.

Draco stepped back out of the bathroom wiping his mouth after just brushing his teeth. "Harry's gone to the Ministry about what's going on. Alyssa figured it was too dangerous to sit here and wait."

"Oh." Brad said. He looked over at Alyssa who had now stepped away from the door. "So what do we do now?" He asked.

"I think we should get some sleep." Alyssa said, "It's been a long night."

Brad looked at the bed and scratched his head. Alyssa looked at Draco who looked like he was strongly resisting the urge to shout 'Shotty!' but he stood silent. She finally rolled her eyes and pointed her finger at the bed. In a very unnatural way, the bed began to stretch itself, making it nearly twice the size it had originally been. She smiled at her handy work and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and change into something dry. When she returned, they had already settled themselves as far opposite on the bed as they could. Alyssa rolled her eyes and climbed over Draco to get under the covers.

"What should we do in the morning?" Alyssa whispered.

Brad groaned, "Go to the nearest diner. I need coffee."

"Agreed." She said. She looked to see what Draco had to say but he merely yawned and pressed his face into the pillow. She sighed and looked up at the ceiling. What an interesting night it had been; dangerous encounter with a vampire; being watched by Death Eaters; now falling asleep between her fiancé and her brother. At that last thought, she felt herself begin to fade away into a deep sleep. The next morning, Alyssa, Brad, Draco, Ginny and Blaise went into town looking for a diner. They'd only found one but it was closed for renovations, so they moved on to coffee shops. Two were closed because it was too early, but they finally found one down a side alley.

"Is it really a good idea to be wasting time looking for coffee?" Ginny asked as they stepped inside.

"I highly doubt we're missing anything important." Alyssa argued.

Draco nodded as he shut the door to the coffee shop behind them. "We would've received a Patronus or something." They all fell silent as they looked around. The shop was completely empty; there didn't even seem to be anyone working. The only sign of it being opened was the running coffee machine. Brad scratched his head impatiently and his shoulders slumped. Ginny yawned and sat at one of the barstools.

"Hello?" Brad called, "Is anyone here?"

There was a low thud in the back of the shop and a grisly looking man with a black eye walked out. "Sorry, abou' tha'. Wot can I do for ye?"

Alyssa cocked an eyebrow and looked at the others, "Um, just five coffee's please."

"Gotcha," He said with a salute. "Wot's the occasion at such an early hour?" He asked.

"We're traveling." Blaise answered curtly. "For business."

The man turned around and eyed Blaise warily and nodded stiffly. They all sat down at a round table and Ginny waited on her stool for the coffee. The man returned to the back room and shut the door.

"He's a little odd, isn't he?" Alyssa asked.

Blaise shrugged, "Everyone's a bit odd at six in the morning. I suppose he's had a bit of a rough night."

"How could you tell?" she said sarcastically. She lowered her voice reasonably as the man came back out with five clean mugs. "Are you gonna tell everyone what's going on when we get back?"

Brad furrowed his brows until he realized who she was talking about. "Right, I guess I should. I'll go straight to the hotel." Alyssa watched over his shoulder at the man working as Brad spoke. "Go to the Manor and stay there. It's not safe out and I don't want you running around. I mean it."

"I don't see why we can't just go with you to the Ministry. It would save us time."

"Because you are not an Auror." Draco said quite simply.

She glared at him, "That's quite beside the point. I'm involved enough to be an Auror, I have more knowledge than half those idiots –"

"Would you lower your voice?" Brad snapped; Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Now would you be saying that you actually _want_ to be involved in the Ministry?"

Draco laughed and just as Alyssa was about to answer her attention was diverted. She shot up from her chair so fast that it fell to the ground behind her. Blaise was standing just as quick as she was, and as Brad and Draco realized what was going on, they stood up as well with their wands out. The man who had just been fixing their coffee now had a wand, and was holding it tightly to Ginny's temple.

"That's not a very good idea, mate." Ginny said through clenched teeth.

"I've heard all I need," He disagreed, "And company's on the way." As soon as the words were spoken, the sound of shattering glass filled the room. Alyssa whipped around to see the front door was crashed through. While the man was distracted, Ginny elbowed him in the stomach. With a loud grunt he leaned forward and she elbowed him again in the face, forcing him to fall on his back. She stepped away from him and pulled out her wand just as the windows shattered through.

"Should we leave?" Alyssa shouted, but then she could see no more. They were surrounded in darkness. With a shout she was shoved to the ground and there were sounds of struggling above her. "Brad!" She shouted, but received no answer. She stood unsteadily to her feet and just as she did so, she received a blow to the stomach sending her flying backwards. She landed hard on her back. The air was knocked out of her. She didn't bother trying to stand again and instead braced herself trying to listen to what was going on.

"_Stupefy_!" She could hear Ginny shout.

"_Rictusempra_!"

There was another shout and Alyssa felt a curse whizz by her. She jumped up to her feet and deflected a curse that came at her face. She pulled out her wand and shouted "_Stupefy_!" She heard a thud and suddenly it was light again. Everyone stopped and blinked in surprise. Draco was restraining someone with his arm around their throat, Brad had bound two people together with his wand, and Blaise was helping Ginny off the ground. Her face was red with anger and she turned around to kick the guy who had originally attacked her.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked Alyssa.

She nodded and wiped her eyes, looking around the now trashed room. "What the fuck just happened?" She shouted.

Brad stood up to his full height, "We should probably take these guys to the Ministry. We need to leave now, though, incase more of them are on the way."

"What the _fuck_ just happened?" She repeated. No one answered her and a tremor shook through her body. "All for some freakin' coffee," She snapped. She took her off her jacket and winced as she tugged her left arm out of her sleeve.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked again, instantly throwing his victim to the floor and coming to her side. She turned her arm to look at her elbow and saw a piece of glass sticking out of it. He furrowed his brows thinking of what they should do, but without hesitation she pulled it out and threw the piece to the floor. "I'll be fine." She answered.

She walked behind the table and grabbed the coffee, pouring herself a mug and nearly chugging it down.

"Do we know any of these guys?" Ginny asked, looking down at the man she just kicked.

Blaise shook his head, "I don't think so; Brad's right, though. We should get going. There's probably more on the way."

Brad shoved the Death Eaters together and looked at Alyssa. "C'mon, we need to get going." He grabbed her bag and tossed it to her, along with her jacket. "I'm going to the hotel; Draco and Ginny – go to the Ministry, Blaise – go with Alyssa to the Manor and wait there. Everyone will meet there when we've decided the next move."

Alyssa put her jacket back on and stood next to Blaise. "Got it. I won't move – promise." She said to assure Brad. Draco kissed her cheek before standing next to Ginny, Blaise winked at her and they apparated away with the four Death Eaters. Brad looked at Alyssa and repeated Harry's words, "Be safe," and he apparated away.

"It's a bit too early for this, don't you agree?" Blaise asked.

Alyssa nodded, "All too much."


	12. Chapter 12

It was silent in the Malfoy manor. The only sound was the ticking of the large grandfather clock in the living room, and Pete's panting as he sat on the living room floor; Alyssa had no idea where Draco kept the dog food, so she searched through the kitchen until she found it. The silence was really starting to get to her, she decided. Everywhere she went it was quiet, and it gave her a headache. After that, she and Blaise sat in front of the fire for who knew how long, waiting for some sort of response from anyone at the Ministry. Alyssa changed into a pair of pajamas that she had kept there – seeing as she was there almost every night. Blaise was half asleep, slouched in an armchair with a mug of coffee dangling from his fingertips.

It was somewhat comforting being back in Draco's home, though. Well… soon to be Draco _and Alyssa's_ home. It was like how Alyssa felt protected in his presence; in his house, she felt like nothing could get to them there. She would've been able to comfortably fall asleep on the couch she was sitting on, but what was going on had her on edge. It was half past seven in the morning, and she really should've been getting sleep. She had only slept for five hours that night which was hardly enough if she was expected to be fighting Death Eaters. The scare at the coffee shop was a bit of a close call. Not that it was a hard little duel, but it took them all off guard.

Everything bad seemed to happen once she got settled in. Alyssa felt like she was experiencing Hogwarts all over again. The only difference was that now she was three years older, and she was getting married – more of a reason to detest interruption.

She was suddenly stirred from her train of thought by green flames in the fireplace. Very surprisingly, Brad's head popped into vision.

"They're not back yet?" Was the first thing he said. Alyssa shook her head and waited for him to continue. "Well everyone's alert over here. We were wondering if we should head over seeing as that's the first place Harry, Draco and Ginny will be."

"Um," Alyssa mumbled and slapped herself a few times trying to get herself alert. "Yeah, come to the property and I'll let you in."

"We'll be there in a moment." Brad said, and his head disappeared.

Alyssa nodded to herself and looked at Blaise whose mouth was starting to droop open. She smiled at him and looked at Pete who was just as alert as ever. She rose from her seat and walked back to the kitchen to get herself a cup of coffee. She needed to be woken up again, or else she'd never be able to pay attention to what was going on. As she filled her mug and took a sip, there was a knock at the door. She walked through the kitchen and through the entrance hall before reaching the large oak doors. She put her hand on the handle before realization hit her.

"Who is it?"

"It's Brad you idiot, I said I was on the way."

"Well, you could just be saying you're Brad. What if you're a Death Eater?"

She could hear a frustrated sigh and some giggles in the background. "How should I prove that I'm Brad?"

"What's my fondest memory?" Alyssa said as she rubbed her eyes.

"That's an easy one." Brad mumbled, "Your birthday when I got you the hotel and smeared chocolate syrup all over you."

Alyssa smiled to herself and opened the door. Brad was standing there with all of her Romanian friends. Given the hour they were all surprisingly wide awake and seemed eager to come inside. She stepped out of the way giving them room to come in, and shut and locked the door behind them.

"So this is Draco's house." Jamie murmured. She looked around, admiring the place and sighed. "When are you moving in?"

"Soon, actually." Alyssa replied, taking a sip of coffee. "He just asked me to."

"What?" Brad asked.

"Nothing. Does anyone want coffee?" She asked, changing the subject. They all nodded in agreement and she moved to the kitchen to make more coffee for everyone. "Just keep it down. Blaise is sleeping in the living room and I don't want Pete to go livid."

"Pete?" Alex wondered aloud.

"Draco's dog." She pulled out another few mugs and set them on the table as they all waited patiently. "So what did you tell them?" She asked Brad.

"Just what happened at the coffee shop and what we have to do."

Alyssa nodded but looked up as Jamie laughed, "And how you apparently almost got killed by Demetri!" She said, "I wish I could've _seen_ him!"

Alyssa rolled her eyes, "Demetri didn't almost _kill_ me, Brad. I was perfectly safe. He just… threw me off a bit. He wasn't going to kill me for the exact reasons we knew he wouldn't; he didn't want to start anything and get his cult involved."

"That's what you think!" Brad insisted, "He had his mouth right on your neck!"

She rolled her eyes again and poured them all cups of coffee. She set the kettle down and walked back to the living room to see that Blaise was now snoring while Pete was at his hand licking the dripping mug. "You'd think they'd be getting back soon… it's almost eight." She flopped down onto the couch where she had previously been sitting as everyone chatted in the kitchen. It was as if sleep came before she had even closed her eyes, and she was snoring loudly for everyone to hear.

It felt like only a blink had occurred before she was being shaken awake. She groaned softly and opened her eyes to see Draco's eyes peering at her through his blonde hair. He had a deadly serious look on his face and for that she wished that they were past this nonsense.

"How long was I out?" Her voice croaked.

Draco shrugged slightly, "I'm not sure. I just got here."

She rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock. It was 8:03. She had gotten ten minutes at most. "What's going on?" She forced herself to sit up and adjusted her pajama shirt. She was so tired she could hardly see straight.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," he started, "But we have to leave now. We've rounded up a team and we're getting more back up by nightfall." Alyssa nodded and stood up from the couch and in front of Draco; he was watching her every move as if waiting for her to just keel over. "I'll have to get dressed, then." She finally said after steadying herself. He furrowed his brows at her and she waited for him to say what was on his mind.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked softly. His voice was low as if afraid of being overheard; but as she looked around she noticed they were alone.

"Yes." Alyssa replied without hesitation. "You think I could just sit here and wait around? No, sir."

"I just…" He was uncomfortable, she could tell. He was nervous. "I just don't want anything to happen to you."

Alyssa smiled at him and rested her hand on his shoulder. "I understand… but you don't see me asking you not to fight. Actually, I wouldn't even think of it because I'm not stupid enough to actually think you'd agree."

"This is true." He said with a smirk. "But this is also my job, I have to do it. You – on the other hand – do not."

"Either way, you won't convince me." Draco nodded; she was right, he knew. Alyssa dropped her hand and crossed the room to her duffel bag to get a new change of clothes, when suddenly there was a shout from the kitchen.

"We need to get going!" Harry shouted. Alyssa could hear a sob coming from Hermione and only rolled her eyes at the sound of her goodbye's with Ron. She pulled out clean jeans and a black t-shirt and didn't bother leaving the room to get changed. No sooner had she put on her clothes that she could hear Harry shout "Shite!" and the sound of crashing glass.

Draco immediately dashed into the kitchen, "Ah, just in time." He drawled sarcastically looking through the windows. His wards had worked well enough, and most of the curses that were being sent their way were ricocheted off the thin glass.

Alyssa ran into the room following, "How many?"

"Can't tell; they're too far away."

"We need to leave." Harry muttered pulling out his wand.

"Are you mad?" Draco shouted, "I've just gotten this place renovated! We're not leaving to let them tear the bloody thing up!" Right away they started arguing at each other and Alyssa's head ache grew worse. She looked at Alex who had his wand at the ready and at Hermione who had tears in her eyes. Brad sent her a look and she shook her head.

"All right!" She shouted loudly. The two shouting men looked at her, "You four – leave. We'll handle this place and send a Patronus for us to follow later." She looked at Ginny, Ron, Draco and Harry and could see the reels in their minds working. It was a rather good idea; she thought smugly. They'd split up again and meet up later. They had to deal with the Ministry. She wasn't a part of that so it only made sense she stayed behind.

Ron nodded once, "She's right. We need to get to the troops and this might take a while." He looked out a window as the Death Eaters outside started shooting curses at the Manor.

Draco was the only one who seemed hesitant, now. He looked at Alyssa and she nodded. Finally he sighed, "Fine. A Patronus will be here in the next hour."

"Wait!" Jamie suddenly shouted, she ran over to Harry, grabbed his shoulders and kissed him full on the mouth in front of everyone. They all looked at her and Eric scoffed loudly while looking the opposite direction. After finally pulling away, Harry adjusted his glasses and smiled smugly at Jamie who blushed. Draco shook his head and crossed the room to Alyssa. He pulled her into a tight embrace and she held onto his shoulders, kissing his neck.

He pulled away and his silver eyes looked down into hers. He opened his mouth to speak but she covered it with her hand, shaking her head. "Tell me later." She said. He smiled and nodded.

"I have to take the wards down for us to leave." And in another moment, Draco, Ginny, Ron and Harry had all disappeared.

"I regret that already." Alyssa murmured.

"You'll be fine." Brad said. He jumped as another spell hit the glass and bounced off, taking him by surprise. Alyssa sighed and looked out the window before she finished getting ready. "All right, people. Get outside. Prepare to fight." She would've giggled at the cheese factor of that line but instead reached into her duffel bag to grab her dagger. She hooked it to a strap and wrapped it around her shin before putting her boots on and folding her jeans over it.

Together they walked out the back doors. They were silent as they moved quietly, being covered by the shadows of the Manor. They could see into the distance of trees, a small crowd gathering dressed in long, black cloaks.

"Is this really what this is like?" Jamie pondered aloud. Alyssa rolled her eyes and Brad shushed her. Suddenly, ropes of flames went flying towards them, towards the Manor, and Alyssa took three steps forward out of the covering of the house. She raised her hand and just as the flames rappelled quickly at them, they instead looked like they hit an invisible shield and blew away, instantly turning to smoke. As the flames went out, the crowd ran at them, and the battle began.



* * *

"Their location was supposed to be at this spot here," Draco said pointing at the map, "But for some reason they've attacked my Manor, so I'm not exactly sure what their numbers are, or where the rest of them are, for that matter. Yes, Gates?"

The broad man to his left, who had his biceps flexing just by raising his hand looked confused. "At your Manor? Shouldn't we be there, then?"

"It's being covered." Draco answered. At everyone's questioning glances he sighed and said, "Alyssa Bennington." They all nodded and sighed in relief. "So, anyway, we'll start here." He pointed to the coordinates again with his wand, "Potter will be here, and Weasley will be there." Everyone seemed to get the point seeing as this was the fourth time they'd been through the plan. "We've got a radius going so we'll all center in and hopefully this will be over in time for supper." He rolled his eyes at everyone's laugh, but he really did want to be finished in time for supper the next day.

"Let's go."

* * *

"Dan! Eight O'clock!" Trish shouted. Dan twisted to the left and shot a curse and then sent a wink back at Trish. Fighting could actually be fun if it was like this, Alyssa had to admit. They were all used to being in dangerous situations together, they knew how they moved, and recognized each direction given. She was standing back-to-back with Blaise as they fought together. So far – thankfully – nothing but windows had been damaged of the Manor, and that was Alyssa's goal.

Hermione was safe in Draco's bedroom with Pete at her side. She didn't dare watch the fight below or else she'd want to join in; but she had another life to look out for, now. She sighed as Brad walked into the room.

"What are you doing here?" She questioned, "Get out there and help them!" She stood up and Pete stood up next to her and began to bark.

"I just wanted to let you know, everything's fine. Their numbers are dwindling. They must've thought that only the people from the coffee shop were here."

"Oh," Hermione sighed, "Well, that's a relief." Brad crossed the room to the back window and looked at the backyard where the fighting was taking place. "See for yourself." Hermione went to his side just in time to see Alex send three Death Eaters at once flying backwards into the shadows of the trees.

Alyssa grunted as she dodged a curse and sent one back over her shoulder. Now that the Death Eaters had realized who she was and what she could do, they all were aiming for her. She was fucking tired and needed some coffee and a good fifteen hours of sleep. She blocked curses with her left hand while sending some back with her right. There was about ten Death Eaters left, which meant only another few minutes. No one was hurt – thank God – maybe a bruise here or there, but nothing devastating. She turned around to see Blaise punch someone down, and then kick them back down as they tried to recover.

Through the short seconds of letting her guard down, a broad shouldered man tackled her to the ground with a thud. He'd apparently lost his wand and was going for desperate measures. He hit her in the stomach and began choking her with his bare hands. As she coughed and struggled for air, her hands rose up between his forearms and split them apart, before pinning them to her sides. She sat up about seven inches for leverage before head-butting him right in the nose. Blood instantly oozed out and she was given another gap to send a punch to the chin and ribs.

His weight suddenly shot off her and his image was instead replaced by Blaise's grinning face. He held out a hand and Alyssa took it willingly. Once she got to her feet she looked around noticing that this short battle was over. Her friends stood cheerfully several feet away from her, high-fiving each other with broad smiles.

Back upstairs, Hermione backed away from the window and sent a Patronus for Aurors to collect the Death Eaters out back, and she watched as the fighting group crowded together.

"Good job, guys." Alyssa panted as she jogged over.

"That was actually kinda fun." Alex said grinning as he high-fived Dan.

Alyssa rolled her eyes, "Because no one got hurt. Let's just not recap to the last time I had to do this." Jamie gagged and shook as if a chill ran through her.

"What now?" Trish asked.

"Now we wait for Harry's word. Just try to relax till then, I don't know how long it'll be till…" She trailed as Hermione came walking out the back doors surrounded by Aurors. Alyssa didn't recognize any of them, but Hermione seemed to know who they were. "They're all out here, I'm sure you know what's going on by now." She was saying to them. She looked over at Alyssa with a smile, "I thought you might want to get them cleaned up."

"Thanks, dear." Alyssa called back. She checked her watch, it was quarter after nine. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach and she tried suppressing them, not wanting to get nervous. She jogged back into the house and washed off her bleeding knuckles; she didn't think she'd have to punch so much in ages. She tied her hair back and was startled by Brad at her side.

"Let me help with that." He said. He already had a washcloth in his hand and it was wet with ice water. He dabbed gently at her knuckles and was especially careful with her Engagement ring.

"Brad, can you do me a favor?" Alyssa asked.

"I was already thinking about it." He said. She smiled and reluctantly slid the ring off her finger, not wanting anything to happen to it. She passed it to Brad and he gazed at it before closing his fist around it. "It'll be safe with me." He said.

Tears filled her eyes, "I don't want to leave you, Brad."

He shrugged nonchalantly, "But you will. And once you're back and walking down that aisle you won't regret it either."

"I know… I just… I just always pictured you there by my side, if something like last time came up again." She actually suddenly was reminded of something, "Dad wants you to visit him. Could you just do this while I'm gone?"

Brad blinked and stepped away from her, "What do you mean? About what?"

Alyssa shrugged, "He didn't say… but once I mentioned your baby and the wedding he wanted me to tell you that." Brad paused but they were interrupted as Hermione came back into the room.

"Harry's Stag showed up; I'll give you the coordinates."

"Shit." Alyssa muttered as her heart skipped a few beats. "Okay, I won't say bye because, well, you know that whole cheesy thing where I say it's not goodbye, it's see you later?"

Brad laughed at her and kissed her cheek. "Don't worry about it. I'll have a whole pot of coffee ready with your name on it." Alyssa smiled, hugged Hermione while taking the paper with the coordinates and ran outside to leave.

* * *

"Draco, you know she'll KILL you for this!" Harry shouted across the field. He had his arm wrapped around a Death Eater's neck and grunted as he fell over onto his back.

"I'm a bit busy at the moment!" Draco shouted back.

The teams had barely arrived before they were already fighting. The Death Eaters formed a safe zone around their spot and Harry and the rest of the Aurors had to get through that before making any real progress.

"_Protego_!" Draco shouted loudly. He got down on his knees and crouched beside a tree getting his breath back. Harry was about twenty feet away from him. "Oy, Scarhead!"

Even through the struggle, Harry managed to roll his eyes. "What, Ferret?"

Draco smirked, "I was wondering if you recognized any of these people." He muttered looking over the bush; he ducked to dodge a curse flying over his head. Harry stunned the person he had a hold of and jogged over to Draco.

"I wouldn't be surprised," he muttered, trying to catch his breath. "I've already had cases with Goyle leading one of their crews; I'm sure he wouldn't miss this." Draco scowled but his expression lightened when Harry asked, "When the hell is Alyssa getting here? I sent my Stag about seven minutes ago."

"Just don't blow my spot the moment you see her; I know how much you love doing that."

Harry paused in thought. "Dunno, mate; you're already a dead man even if you make it out alive, and I don't want her to kill me 'cause I didn't tell her."

Draco rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Fine. Just cover me," he mumbled quietly before jumping over the bush." Harry kept his eyes peeled but there was no one in sight, and Draco quickly disappeared from view.

"_Stupefy_!" a voice shouted from behind him. A Death Eater he hadn't noticed fell limp to his side and he turned around to see Alyssa alongside Blaise, Jamie, Trish, Dan, Alex, Eric and Sam.

"It's about time you showed!" He shouted at them.

"Anyone we know dead?" Blaise asked sarcastically.

Harry walked over to them, "Everything's pretty calm around here. This is just their safe zone and our numbers are strong compared to them. We're worried about what's coming, though." He noticed Alyssa's eyes traveling around them, looking for a certain familiar face. She heard Harry's sigh and looked at him, "I tried to stop him." He reasoned.

Alyssa's jaw dropped, and for a second Blaise had thought something really bad had happened. "Is Draco okay? Where is he?" He started to shout.

"I can't believe it… no, actually I can. When do you two stop this plotting? Don't you realize that it never does any good?" Alyssa shook her head.

"What's happened?" Jamie asked.

"Draco went to go see 'what's coming,' hasn't he?" Alyssa demanded. "He's gonna get himself killed doing things like this." Alyssa jogged forward, the sun was bright now and she could see the spread of ground ahead of them. They were on the top of a hill, which gave them clear advantage. "Please tell me he has backup?" She sighed at Harry's lack of response.

An Auror suddenly ran towards them. "We're clear; there's no injured so shall we continue through?"

Harry gave a moment of thought. They should try to move in as fast as possible because of Draco, and whoever was crazy enough to go with him needed backup. But they also need to regroup, figure out a new plan so they didn't go in over their heads. "Head back to your campsites; we need to regroup. I'm giving fifteen minutes before I send out my Patronus. And keep your eyes peeled."

Alyssa sighed impatiently and walked off with Harry to the Auror's campsite. "So whose clever idea was this?" She asked him.

"Alyssa, I really do apologize. I told him you'd kill him for it… he just wanted to get a look at their campsites so we'd know what we were getting into – WAIT!" He grabbed her arm as she turned to run after him, "Don't make any rash decisions." He looked away as another Auror approached them. "What's up? Everything okay?"

"I've got some news. Nice meeting you Bennington," He winked at Alyssa before continuing with Harry, "Wilson followed Malfoy in; they ran into about fifteen Death Eaters – got pretty close to their campsite – but Wilson lost track of him. He retreated and nearly lost an arm doing so. He's getting patched up and we're sending a small team in to get Malfoy's back. Oy… what's she doin'?"

Harry looked over his shoulder to see Alyssa stomping angrily into the trees. She obviously had no idea where she was headed, but purpose was on her mind. She wanted to kill these Death Eaters, and wanted Draco back so she could kick the crap out of him, too. Harry jogged up to her and grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

"What the hell are you doing?" She demanded, trying to rip her arm out of his grasp.

He tugged harder, "ME? What are YOU doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing?"

"I don't need to even think about it; I KNOW what you're doing!"

"Now that we've all realized what we're doing… can we actually come up with a plan?" Alex said walking up to them. Alyssa and Harry glared at each other for a few seconds before they both eased off, and looked in the opposite directions with their arms crossed.

"I don't see why we need a plan." Alyssa huffed. "I can just run in there, and run back out in no time at all."

"You don't even know where you're going!" Harry protested. "Besides – what if you actually got hurt? Everything you risked to save Draco would be in vain, and we'd still be stuck in the same situation."

"Ugh – FINE!" Alyssa shouted. She stomped her foot and flames started swirling around her clenched fists. She wanted to fight – badly. "What do we do now then?" She growled as she walked back towards the campsite. Her arms were crossed and Harry was nervous to get too close to her, so he kept a safe distance.

"Um – well…" He scratched his head. He wasn't too sure of what to do, but running in on Death Eaters because you were in love with a guy was not a good enough reason for him to rush. "Let's just settle down, okay? You should at least take a nap… I take it you haven't really slept at all."

Alyssa shook her head, "No, I haven't really – what? What are you doing? Don't distract me! My _fiancé_ is out there getting himself _killed_ and you expect me to take a nap?" She shouted.

Harry stood in front of her and looked at her face. She looked slightly pale; and there were circles under her eyes, which were a darker shade of violet than usual. He placed his hand gently on the side of her face and noticed her eyes twitch.

"Yeah – I do." He said softly. She looked to the ground as if defeated and he said, "At least get some food in your stomach. You need some energy." She finally agreed and Harry pointed her to a tent she could wait in while he got her a snack. When she walked through the front flaps she was enveloped into warmth. There were two sets of bunk beds but they were all empty. There was a desk on the farthest end with papers spread around, and lit candles that cast dim lighting over the tent. There was some sort of scent in the room that Alyssa couldn't place, but it made her stomach growl. Something like… a vanilla cake, maybe. She felt her eyes roll backwards and she grabbed one of the posts on the bunk to her left. Leaning towards the bed, her knees bent awkwardly against her will as she tipped over. She was into a deep sleep before she even hit the mattress.

Several hours later, Alyssa woke with a start. She sat up in the bed breathing heavy and confused. Without even a glance at her watch she hopped up and dashed out of the tent. It was getting dark now, which meant she had slept the entire day. Something important was bound to have happened. She looked around for a familiar face and was unsuccessful until she recognized the Auror Harry had been talking to earlier.

She jogged over to him just saying 'hey' considering she didn't really know his name. He looked pleased to see her, though.

"Ah, Bennington," He said cheerfully as he looked over. "Rise and shine, eh?"

"Sure, sure," She said dismissively. "Um… what's going on?"

His eyes looked skyward as he thought. "Well, Potter and those friends of yours have done a perimeter. We've got the Death Eaters completely surrounded now. They tried a surprise attack earlier – which you slept through – but failed miserably." He said with a smirk. "We're just waiting for word now to follow behind them."

Alyssa nodded, taking this information in. No word on Draco, or else he would've said something. Harry wasn't around, neither were her friends. She blinked; prime opportunity. "Hey, um… could you do me a favor?"

* * *

Alyssa now sat, with five other Auror's as backup, squatted behind a bush. For some reason, John – she had finally learned his name – was perfectly willing to come with her to find Draco. He brought other backup just in case something went wrong. He was married, though, so he understood and would've done the same thing if he was in Alyssa's place.

"Do you see anything, yet?" He asked for her side. He was lying on the ground, not bothering to even have a look himself. The other Aurors were situated several yards back, waiting for any sign from John that something had gone wrong.

"No – there's just tents and stuff. I don't even recognize any of these people."

"How many?"

There was a pause. "Two closest to us; there's at least ten just wandering around the entire place. There must be others in the tents so let's avoid making a scene."

John just nodded along, making a mental note. He opened his mouth to say something when Alyssa gasped quietly. He turned over onto his front and pushed himself up on his arms to get a better look. "There he is." She murmured. John squinted his eyes and looked at the nearest tent. Draco was thrown out of it, bound by the wrists, and toppled over. Three Death Eaters followed him out and surrounded 

him; their hoods were down and Alyssa recognized two of them. Pansy and Goyle. It was safe to assume Goyle hadn't changed much. He was only taller than he had been since school, and wider. Pansy looked just the same with her hideous pug-nose and fuzzy eyebrows, although slightly taller as well.

"Scum." She muttered under her breath. Her legs subconsciously fixed themselves into a dashing position and John looked at her. "Easy, girl. Take it easy."

Alyssa bit her lip and watched on. Draco had been raised to his feet by the one she didn't recognize. He looked conscious enough, but blood covered his face. He glanced over his right shoulder in her general direction and she squatted lower. He knew she was there.

"Don't move." She suddenly said to John. "Don't follow."

"Don't follow? What do you mean, don't follow?" John asked. He looked over and did a double take as he noticed the sudden change in the color of her eyes, but she ignored him. Goyle had punched Draco in the face and he fell to the ground on his knees. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at Draco. Alyssa stood up, and broke into a sprint.

"_Avada_ –"

**BOOM**

Goyle suddenly went flying backwards and crashed to the floor – his lifeless body landed several yards in the opposite direction. The two original Death Eaters standing guard were just as quickly taken care of. Alyssa hit one in the chest with her fist and he fell. Before he even hit the ground she pulled her dagger from the leg of her jeans and threw it at the other, getting him directly in the chest. He fell to the ground and as she ran over him she pulled it back out of his chest before stabbing the unknown Death Eater, closest to Draco, in the chest.

Just as Draco tipped over, Alyssa was at his side and wrapped her arms around his waist. She hadn't even looked at him before Pansy snarled, "Come to join your lover, have you?"

Alyssa looked over her shoulder to see Pansy was standing over them. She twisted around and kicked out, grunting as her foot connected with Pansy's kneecap. She screamed in protest and fell to the ground clutching her knee.

"That's a warning." Alyssa said darkly, "Touch him again, and I'll kill you myself."

Pansy opened her mouth to say something, but Alyssa had already Apparated away with Draco in her arms.

When she landed back at the Auror's campsite, she wasn't surprised to see that they were surrounded by Harry and the rest of his team. John had also returned with the Auror's who had her back. Harry, unsurprisingly, looked pissed but she ignored him. Not caring about making a scene, Alyssa shoved Draco away from her body. He hadn't even gotten a word out, his hands weren't even out of their binds, before she punched him in square in the nose. He shouted out as he tried to keep balance, but instead fell to his knees.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?" She screamed, in his face. "HAVE YOU COMPLETELY LOST IT?" She raised her fist again, but John ran to her and grabbed her wrist. "YOU ALMOST DIED! I SAVED YOUR FUCKING LIFE!" She continued screaming. She took a step forward and John put his arms around her waist and picked her up off the ground to carry her away.

"Put me down! I have a right to hit him! PUT ME DOWN!"

John ignored her protests and mumbled to someone as he passed, "Someone get him cleaned up, all right?"

* * *

"I can't believe she hit him."

"Y'know… if I've ever seen an abusive relationship, this is definitely it."

"They're not abusive, Jamie, stop talkin' out of your arse."

Jamie scoffed and threw her hands in the air. "Are you kidding? What about at Hogwarts when he beat the crap out of her? And now she nearly beat the crap out of his already bloody self."

"I actually thought it was quite funny." Alex said, not bothering to hide his chuckle.

"Oh, yes. Terribly funny." Dan mumbled.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Everyone shushed each other and tried looking otherwise occupied as Alyssa walked over. "Why are you outside his tent?"

"We were just talking…" Jamie said. "What'd Potter say?"

"Gave me a lecture, obviously. He wouldn't let me go with John's team because I need to 'calm down'." She rolled her eyes and kicked the dirt on the ground with her foot.

"Man," Alex mumbled, "You've barely even fought during this thing, you sure you don't want to just head back?"

Alyssa smiled for the first time that night. "I'm good here; once John gets back we're camping for the night. Wards up and all. Anyone's free to join me at the watch." They all nodded and looked at their watches. "Anyway… I'm going into talk to him, so just…"

"I don't know, mate." Eric said stepping in front of the flaps. "You might beat him up again and we sort of need him out there."

"I'm not beating him up, Eric." She said impatiently. "Now step aside before I have to do the same to you." Eric more than willing jumped away from her and she walked into the candlelit tent. It was cool in there; just like Draco liked it and she could see him on the opposite side of the tent. "Draco?"

"What?" He mumbled. His hand was holding something on his face and she only noticed it was an ice pack as she got closer. She sat down next to his legs and placed her hand on his forearm. "I'm sorry I broke your nose." She mumbled.

He scoffed loudly and dropped his hand from his face as he sat up sharply. "Yeah – I don't think we're off to a great start." He drawled, "You're beating me before we're even married."

"I didn't beat you." Alyssa snapped. "I only hit you once, and you deserved it!" Draco rolled his eyes and he moved so his back was leaning against the headboard of the bed. "You can never plot with Harry again. Nothing good ever comes out of it."

"That's a bit out of the question, considering we're practically partners."

"Yes, well last time you did scheming like this behind my back I almost died." Alyssa said bluntly. Draco glared at her – she had hit his weak spot – but it was mostly true, anyway.

"Well you did something just as bad. You ran after me; you could've gotten yourself killed doing that," he said, ignoring her last comment.

"Yeah, and what if I hadn't? Goyle was about to _kill_ you, Draco." He looked away from her but she put her hand on his chin to force him to look at her. "You would've died if I hadn't shown up… and what, then? What am I supposed to do without you? Just keep trucking?"

"At least you'd still be alive," he tried rationalizing, "They could've killed us both."

Alyssa shrugged nonchalantly, "Then at least we'd still be together."

"That's a sick way of looking at this."

"So is constantly throwing yourself into life or death situations, Draco." She scooted closer to him and brushed his hair out of his eyes – one that was practically swollen shut – before resting her hand on his heart. "I need you with me. I can't lose you again… I wouldn't make it this time."

He covered her hand with his and smiled lightly, even though it pained his bruises for doing so. "I'm sorry." He said genuinely, "I won't do it again." She opened her mouth to thank him, but he quickly pulled her to him and silenced her with a kiss. She immediately opened her mouth against his and pressed herself further against him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he pulled away violently, cursing under his breath. "My fucking nose," he muttered.

She laughed as she sat up and smiled at him. "I'm really sorry about that…" she mumbled softly, "It's out of love."

"Sometimes I'm not so sure." He said, but there was a smirk on his face.

"Well, you better be sure, man, 'cause you're stuck with me forever." He smiled but it soon vanished as a glowing light illuminated the tent from outside. They both stood off the bed and walked to the flaps before sticking their heads out to look at what was going on. Three of their tents were blazing with flames and Death Eaters crowded the entire campsite.

"Oh… shit."

* * *

**A/N:** Yes I realize this took forever to get out, but I wrote this, then decided I hated it so I rewrote it... Hope you enjoy it, though! Next update will be much sooner I promise, Review Please!!


	13. Apologies

So I'm back to writing this story and all that but I'd like to take this time to apologizeeee so much to my readers! I definitely think an explanation is in order.

Firstly, I started my first year at college last fall and things sort of went downhill from there… I sort of went to an extreme writers block once I started getting caught up in the swing of things at school, and then I had some personal problems that needed to be attended to, and then I traveled for a while outside of the country as well to visit some family.

I'd just like to apologize for this ridiculous hiatus. I'd like anyone who's following this story to know that I'm so sorry for taking an outrageously long amount of time to update, and I would also like you to know that I've been back to the writing and a new chapter will be up soon enough.

Once again, I'm sooooo sorry about this. I appreciate all of you who've followed this story and who've sent me any messages or reviews, I really do. Thanks so much for baring with me, and the next chapter will be up before the week is out!

XXXOOO


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Once again, thank you all sooo much for sticking with my story. I've seriously had way too many cp problems, and it's always when I'm about to submit a new chapter haha. Well, I hope you like this one, lemme know what you think!! As always I appreciate all my readers and everyone who has given me feedback to my story, it really is what keeps the writing going, so thank you all SO much. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

"So, what was it exactly that your big mission was supposed to do?" Alyssa asked; she tore her eyes away from the frightening scene in front of them and heard Draco swallow before he answered.

"They were planning this, for one. I told Potter already, I'm surprised they've gotten this far."

Alyssa growled in reply and raised her right arm, palm facing the tents. Draco noticed her shoulders rise and fall as she took deep even breaths, and as she closed her palm into a fist, the flames died down until it was nothing but smoke. She stomped down the steps of the tent and looked around blindly.

"We have to find Harry," She started to say, before being interrupted by someone running at her from the left. She hadn't even braced herself when Draco calmly stepped in front of him and elbowed him in the face. Alyssa looked up at him and grinned slightly, "Thanks."

He looked over and paused; instead of seeing her shining violet eyes, they were now black. He flinched at the memories it caused him to have and nodded before looking away. "You're right," he mumbled nonchalantly. "We have to find him."

She ran from the tent, avoiding crashing into others as she did, and tried to ignore the look on Draco's face as her change in eye color registered to him. It wasn't like she could control it; they changed by themselves. Alyssa dodged bodies as she ran, but she didn't see Harry; it was hard to see anything, though, especially without the fire. Just as she turned to find Draco fighting off other Death Eaters, she was tackled to the ground and the wind was knocked out of her body. The first thing she noticed was that the guy was in a white T-Shirt – not in robes. She blinked before he jumped at her; she yelled out as she was tackled to the ground.

"Alyssa? Oh shit – I'm so sorry!"

"Alex? Jesus – get the hell off me!" She rolled the kinks out of her shoulders as Alex helped her up and he held her shoulders with his hands, "What were you thinking?" she questioned.

"I'm _so_ sorry," he repeated, "I can't tell who anyone is in this mess."

"Where's Harry? Is he okay?"

Alex pulled her out of the way of flying curses and nodded his head, "He's fine; he's with Ron by the trees. This is it!" He said balling his fists, he grinned at her before running in the opposite direction with his wand raised. Alyssa jogged on, shoving people out of her way. She could see Harry in the distance but there were too many people in between them to get to him. She raised her hand as a curse came flying at her, and it ricocheted back at them. She scoffed to herself and searched her jeans looking for her wand; she eventually found it in her left boot and held it in her right hand tightly. She was thinking of what her next step should be when someone tapped her shoulder. Alyssa quickly whipped around and was the receiving end of a punch to the nose.

She cursed loudly and heard Pansy laugh at her. "That's for breaking my nose." She snarled.

Alyssa spat blood trailing from her nose to the ground and messily ran her hand across her face. At the same time they raised their wands at each other, ready to duel, but were distracted by an explosion not far from them. Alyssa stupidly chanced a glance at where it came from, and in the split second that she looked away, Pansy sent a curse at her. It hit her square in the chest and she flew backwards a few feet before landing hard on the ground.

She coughed loudly as she rolled over onto her stomach, feeling as if something cracked on the inside. Pansy walked calmly over to her and grabbed a handful of Alyssa's hair to pull her face up from the ground.

"Now, where's that lovely boyfriend of yours?" She teased, "I want him to watch."

Alyssa looked around as well, seeing that Draco wasn't too far away, surrounded by Death Eaters. He held his own, though, and sent curses at each one of them while simultaneously dodging the curses sent at him.

She threw an arm out to smack at Pansy's hand, and turned over on her back throwing her off balance. Alyssa sat up quickly, wrapping her arms around Pansy's waist and brought her down to the ground with her. She freed one arm and punched Pansy in the face, then twisted her arm backwards. Pansy stifled a scream as her arm was bent the wrong way and her wand fell out of her useless hand. It brought Alyssa extreme satisfaction as she stomped on and broke Pansy's wand.

The satisfaction left as quickly as it had come as the Cruciatus curse hit her from behind. Momentarily, she felt excruciating pain course through her body before she pushed it out. With a gasp, green light flooded out of her as the curse broke. She sat up, raising her hand towards the man who cursed her, and a white light shot at him. Hitting him square in the chest, he fell to the ground and lay motionless.

Alyssa turned her attention back to Pansy as she used her wand to bind her hands together. She gave her another good smack in the head before standing up.

She was surrounded. She had lost sight of anyone on her side and instead met the eyes of Death Eaters. They all had their wands pointed at her, already knowing what she was capable of. Alyssa paused; she slowly got her breath back as she thought of what to do now. She only had mere seconds, though. They all raised their wands, ready to attack.

Before one of them could shout out a spell, Alyssa raised her wand and a stream of flames shot out of it. She slowly spun around, creating a circle of fire around her. It got bigger and bigger until she couldn't see the people surrounding her; she could only hear the shouts and screams as the flames got closer to them. She held on for a few moments longer before setting her wand back down. There were much less standing bodies than the amount that had been before, and other fighting had resumed.

She finally caught sight of Harry and jogged over to him. He was busy dueling with three other Death Eaters, and he sent her a thankful smile as she joined in.

They fought together back to back; Alyssa sent a curse at one man with her wand, while blocking a curse with her free hand.

"_Rictusempra_!" Harry shouted, causing his target to fly backwards.

"_Sectumsempra_!" One of them shouted.

Alyssa moved to Harry's side, shouting "_Protego_!" to block the curse, followed by a swift hex to their attacker.

"Thanks," Harry mumbled as he got his breath back. For the time being, they weren't fighting anyone so Alyssa took the time to get caught up in what was going on.

"How much more are there?" She asked hopefully.

Harry shook his head, "Not many; John and his team ended up ambushing their campsite. That's why everyone ended up here."

Speaking of the devil, John ran towards them, pushing himself through the crowd. Once he reached them, Alyssa noticed he looked slightly paler than he had been earlier.

"Is everything all right?" Harry asked.

He sighed and looked at Alyssa, whose heart suddenly raced and her mouth dropped open. "What's wrong?" she demanded.

John shook his head before answering. "We've got a tent set up in the back for the injured… I just ran into two of your Romanian friends over there… They brought a girl with them."

Alyssa held onto her breath, "Who?" Harry asked for her.

John quirked his lips, "I want to say her name was… Jamie?"

"Oh, no…" Alyssa murmured. And without another moment's hesitation she took off running towards the tent John had told her about. She reached the back of their campsite and spotted it out quickly because it was the only tent that wasn't empty. Alex was in front of the tent, pacing back and forth and rubbing his forehead. She shouted his name as she ran up to get his attention.

"Jamie – is she okay? Is everything okay?" She asked immediately.

Alex looked worried, and for someone like him, that wasn't a good sign. Without waiting for him to answer she ran up the few steps and into the tent. There were only ten beds set up, and each person in there was being tended to by a Medi-Wizard. She scanned each of the beds with her eyes until she spotted Jamie and ran over to her bedside.

Jamie was conscious. That was good. "Oh, God – Jamie, are you okay?" Alyssa asked.

She winced as she took a potion that the Medi-Wizard had given her. Alyssa observed her face; she had a cut on her forehead, a busted lip, and Alyssa's eyes finally landed on the wound that was bleeding profusely on her stomach. This was exactly why Alyssa didn't want her friends fighting.

"That ugly fucking bitch," Jamie muttered through gritted teeth; if it was from the pain or being angry, Alyssa wasn't sure. "Came up from behind me and hit me over the head."

Alyssa's eyes darkened considerably, "Who was it? Jamie, who was it?"

"Dammit, Alyssa," She cursed, wincing again. "You didn't tell me how much this hurts."

"I need some help over here!" Someone shouted. Alyssa looked over as Ron came into the tent, dragging someone she didn't know in with him. Since she'd had some experience in hospitals, Alyssa rushed over and helped Ron carry him to another bed.

"What happened?" she asked.

"That bloody cutting curse." He snapped, "I swear, as much good as Snape did for us, he certainly knew how to spread word of his handy curses."

Alyssa's eyes raked over the man's body. He was sliced in the thigh, his chest, and his left arm. "Ron, get your wand out and start healing the cuts on his arm. Someone get me some gauze!" She shouted.

Ron got to work as someone handed her gauze. She ripped open the man's shirt and used her wand to wash away the access blood, before putting gauze on it and applying pressure with both hands. Once Ron was done with his arm, she moved on to do the same to his leg, while Ron healed his chest.

"Excuse me, miss?" Someone asked, tapping her shoulder. She turned around to see Jamie's Medi-Wizard looking at her. He seemed somewhat reluctant until she questioned him.

"Well, Jamie's said something, something about her attacker."

Alyssa left the man she was helping to rush back over to Jamie's side. "What is it, Jamie?" she asked. She observed her body again to notice that she wasn't bleeding from her stomach anymore, and sighed with relief.

"I recognized her from a picture in Harry's office," Jamie said quietly. "Her name was Parkinson, if I remember correctly."

Alyssa growled and closed her eyes. How the hell did Pansy manage to get loose? She scoffed loudly and stood up. "I'll be back, Jamie, I promise. You'll be fine, this man's gonna take good care of you."

She kissed her forehead and ran back out of the tent; Alex was no longer there. She ran back to where the fighting was and squinted through the darkness, noticing that there was a remarkably large downsize to the amount of people fighting. She saw Harry; he was dueling again with John by his side. Pushing further through the crowd, she also saw Alex and Eric fighting together, with Blaise not too far away. It was when Alyssa heard that usual shriek of laughter that she finally found Pansy. She was dueling Ginny, who was bright red in the face from anger.

Alyssa ran up to Pansy, and without pausing to think about it, she spun her around by her shoulders and hit her in the face. Pansy recoiled quickly, and laughed when she saw Alyssa. The look was immediately wiped off her face, though, when Alyssa punched her again in the nose. Then she rose her leg and kicked her in the stomach, sending her straight to the ground.

"You fucking bitch," Alyssa muttered.

As she went to give her another swift kick in the ribs for good measure, a pair of arms gripped her shoulders and threw her away from Pansy. It was some guy she'd never seen before. As Alyssa tried regaining her balance, the man shot a curse at her. She was lifted off the ground and landed several feet back on her side.

With her current position on the ground, and the little time given, Alyssa looked at Pansy who was trying to get up and sent a beam of white light in her direction, hitting her in the chest.

The man standing above her looked over at Pansy and looked back at Alyssa. He scrunched his ugly face up and stomped on Alyssa's hand. She shouted out as she felt the bones in her fingers crack. He bent over and pulled her up by the hair, and when she struggled against him he hit her in the face. He pulled out his wand from his pocket and held it to her throat. Alyssa winced again as he gripped harder on her hair and closed her eyes, waiting for the worst.

The man paused and started turning his head to look to the left. Without hesitation, Alyssa grabbed her wand and apparated.

The only problem with apparition is that you always have to have your mind set on where you intended on going. Alyssa had no idea where she was going; the only thought in her head was to get away from the man trying to kill her. The next time she opened her eyes, she hit a body of water and sunk in ten feet below. Alyssa had never been in a near drowning situation, but as the water filled her lungs, and as she choked and sputtered with no oxygen inside, she found that this would be her first and last experience. Her eyes flew open but she saw nothing but black, and heard nothing but silence.

She kicked her legs with all the energy she had left. The silence of the water was deafening; loud nothing. She strained to keep her eyes open but it was so dark in the water and above the water that all she saw was a tiny patch of midnight blue of the surface of the water. The patch got bigger and bigger as she kicked harder and harder, and as her eyes fluttered shut and her strength ebbed away, she finally broke the surface. Alyssa coughed and spluttered, and squinted her eyes to see which way was shore before getting her breath back and swimming.

When her feet touched sand, she stood for a minute and waited for her heartbeat to slow down. Looking around, Alyssa had no idea where she was. She didn't know that there was a lake near their campsite. She didn't even know if she was close to the campsite at all. She took a few steps forward, baring her shoulders to the cool night air. Alyssa shivered. She weakly made her way to shore, and plopped down, clutching her broken hand in her lap.

"Good going, Alyssa." She sarcastically mumbled to herself. She also realized that she lost her wand; probably to the lake.

She held her good hand out to conjure some light but a noise from directly ahead of her stopped her. She let her arm fall back to her side and stared intently at the dark shadows the trees created. Finally, she heard the sound of running footsteps. Alyssa instinctively took a few steps back. Whatever was running, it was running towards her. When she finally saw motion, Alyssa raised her hand and emitted a ball of flames.

"Who's there?" She shouted.

"Wait!" a girl shouted back at her. "Don't shoot!"

Alyssa paused and straightened up, moving her hand to the side.

Only about three seconds had passed as the moonlight exposed Trish running full speed at Alyssa. It had barely registered in Alyssa's mind that it was her, until Trish grabbed her broken hand and kept running.

Alyssa practically screamed in pain and stopped short from running to clutch her hand. "What the hell are you doing?!" She shouted.

"RUN!" Trish shouted, barely looking back as she ran.

Confused, Alyssa looked back over her shoulder at the trees. Suddenly she could see at least fifteen lights coming her way, which she assumed were the lit wands of Death Eaters. She took off after Trish, who was headed into another dark patch of woods. It became an instant struggle to fight off wayward branches, roots, and sticks and they could barely see a thing, save for the small amount of light coming from Trish's wand.

"What the hell – did you do – to get these – ugh! – Death Eaters running after you?!" Alyssa shouted through clenched teeth as she fought through the trees.

"To make a long story short," Trish broke off as she tripped over a root and regained her footing, "I set fire to a shit-load of tents while they were inside!"

Laughter threatened to escape from Alyssa's mouth as they continued to run. "That's awesome!" She shouted instead.

As they ran through the woods Alyssa looked back to see trees being blasted out of the way as the Death Eaters ran after them. It wasn't too long before they reached an opening and sped through. Trish was about ten paces ahead of Alyssa, who looked back once more, saw nothing, and then collided into what felt like another tree.

She hit the ground and shook the hair out of her face to look above her.

Draco reached down and grabbed her hand, hoisting her up. "Get behind me." He said quickly, shoving her back.

"Draco," she started; she had not seen him since they got separated. He ignored her, though, and instead he focused on the direction she had came from with his wand raised. She looked around and saw that there were five others with him, including John, Alex, Dan, Ron, and Harry. They were all lined up next to each other, as if expecting what was coming towards them.

Although Alyssa partly hated herself for doing it, she realized they'd be outnumbered and got in line with them (slightly behind Draco because she knew it'd annoy him if she didn't obey what he said). Trish was standing a few feet behind her. Trish's hands were shaking and her face looked as pale as a ghost, but she stood her ground with her wand raised.

The next events happened very quickly.

There was an enormous fire set to the trees, the men looked up, momentarily distracted and it was more than fifteen Death Eaters that ran out of the woods and surrounded them. Curses were shot out instantly and it was every man for themselves as people dove, ducked, ran and jumped to dodge each blow. The small cleared area was now filled with blue, red, green and white lights coming from every wand, and everything else was a mass of unidentifiable people running around in chaos.

The numbers slowly but steadily dwindled. Dan was laying on the ground, his arm injured; Draco and Ron stood back to back as they fought off Death Eaters; Harry was struggling with one, trying to get them down to the ground; Alyssa attempted blocking curses from hitting anyone on their side, and she could not focus on anything else.

It wasn't until they were almost even in combat when Alyssa heard the unforgiveable.

"_Avada Kedavra!_"

Alyssa tried shoving someone out of the way to see where the curse was shot but he wouldn't budge. Without thinking she hit them with her good fist, a blast of light shot through her and into the person and they went soaring away. Then she was hit from the side and fell over and into the ground.

It was finally silent. No one else was shouting, and there were no more jets of light flying around. Someone helped Alyssa up and she looked up to see it was Alex. But he wasn't looking at her; he was looking behind her and looked slightly pale, his face drawn into a stern look. She pulled away, more sharply than she intended to turn around and follow his line of sight.

Alyssa's heart sunk in her chest and she took a few steps forward. Lying maybe ten feet away from her was Trish. Her eyes were opened, and so was her mouth in exclamation. Her wand was still in her hand.

"NO!" Someone shouted suddenly. Dan ran forward and fell to his knees beside Trish. As if in shock, he slowly reached out a hand to place on her forehead, and his shoulders slumped. Alex followed suit; his eyes were wide and brimming with tears as he struggled to force down the tremor that coursed through his body. Alyssa finally took a breath she didn't notice she was holding, and realized tears were falling from her eyes. She walked as far as she could before her knees gave out, and she practically crawled the rest of the way to Trish's lifeless body. She ran her fingers through Trish's soft, dark brown hair. Dan closed her eyes with shaking fingertips. Behind them, John conjured up a stretcher. Alyssa felt sick.

She fell back onto her bottom and struggled to force herself back up in a standing position. She turned around, and Draco met her in an instant. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and held her to him as sobs wrenched through her chest. Sound started to muffle down, and her surroundings seemed to fade away. Alyssa didn't know how long it was that she cried into Draco's shirt until her sobs began to die out. Then the only thing she was aware of was the sound and steady rise and fall of Draco's chest as he breathed.

Suddenly his voice broke through the silence. "It's all over," he said soothingly, "I'm taking you home."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Here's the next chapter! Hope I didn't take too long. My computer finally crashed, and luckily I was able to upload this doc before it was lost, and I'll soon be getting a replacement =] OH, and also, because I had to upload this online before I was even closed to finished with it, there may be a few spelling errors which I sincerely apologize for =/ just bear with me. I hope you like this one, and once again, thank you all so much for following along with my stories and giving me fantastic reviews. I appreciate it soooo much. I'm actually trying to wonder if I want to write another sequal or just make an extensive epilogue lol 'cause there's so much about everyone's future that I want to put in. So as you read on to the conclusion of the story, let me know what you think!

Thanks again! Enjoyy

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Chapter Fourteen

_ Tick-tock_

In the neatly organized office, it was absolutely silent save for the repetitive ticking of the clock hanging on the wall. Alyssa sat in Draco's desk with his cloak draped around her shoulders and a mug of hot coffee sitting in front of her. There was still dried mud, blood, and saltwater all over her body. Her clothes were still damp from the cold lake. She stared into the mug, watching the charmed spoon stir in the milk and sugar. Sighing heavily, her head fell backwards hitting the back of the chair with a dull thud. Although she was glad everything was over, and unable to wait for Draco to get back so they could leave, there was only one thought that was circling over and over through her mind.

_This is all my fault_.

Alyssa knew that it was a Death Eater that killed her dear friend, but she couldn't help but think that if she had tried harder to keep her friends home, Trish would possibly still be alive. Trish had had so much ahead of her; she had a great career and loved every second of it, she had a huge family and group of friends that loved and supported her through everything in her life, and she had finally got together with Orlando. Alyssa should've fought harder; should've made it more clear to all of them about how dangerous the situation could've been. Instead she just… gave up. _Yes_, she decided, _Trish would still be alive_.

_Tick-tock_

She leaned forward, inhaled the scent of her coffee, and took a rather large sip, inviting instead of rejecting the burning she felt on her tongue. For the first time in what seemed like forever, she could feel soothing warmth spread throughout her body. Looking up at the clock for tenth time in the past three minutes, Alyssa wondered what the hell was taking Draco so long. She just wanted to leave, snuggle into Draco's warm bed, and be held by his strong arms. She stood up, tugging his cloak tighter around her shoulders and began pacing his office. She paced back and forth, biting nervously at her nails and periodically taking a sip of her coffee, for what seemed to be another twenty minutes before she finally heard the door knob turn and looked over her shoulder to see Draco stride in with a stack of papers about a foot high.

"What's all that?" She asked, jutting her chin towards the stack.

He dropped them ungraciously onto his desk. They scattered all over his spotless desk and he sighed, raking through his hair with a mud and blood covered hand.

"Bloody paperwork," he muttered angrily. "I'm going to be stuck here for ages filing all this shit."

"Paperwork?" Alyssa made her way around the desk, handing him back his cloak, only to have him wrap it back around her when she made a move to walk back. He put his hands on her waist and pulled her back against him, nuzzling into the crook of her neck.

"It doesn't matter," he dismissed casually. "Are you all right?"

Alyssa sighed as she rubbed his neck with her hand. "I'll be fine," she lied.

Draco turned her around so that she was facing him and looked into her shining eyes. He brushed strands of hair falling from her messed up ponytail and placed them behind her ear. "You're lying." He said simply.

"How would you know?"

"I can read you quite easily, you know." He countered matter-of-factly. "I think you're not fine, and I think you've got the wrong ideas clouding that lovely mind of yours." He waited for her to say something, and was slightly frustrated at her reluctance to talk about what happened. He had killed people, seen people be killed; it was not hard for him to look under the surface and see what was going through the mind of someone in grief. Especially when that person was his fiancé. "Don't blame yourself, love. Sometimes you need to accept that some things are out of your control. That Death Eater killed your friend, and I promise you, he will be spending the rest of his life rotting in a cell in Azkaban."

Alyssa couldn't find a response to this, so instead rested her head on his chest. "Can we go home now?" she asked.

"Of course," he said softly. He took her hand, leading her out of his office, and together they went back to Malfoy Manor.

When they arrived back to the Manor, they surprisingly found that Brad and Hermione were still there. Apparently no one had informed them that everything had ended, or what specifically had happened, and after a long explanation of the events that took place, it _un_surprisingly left the two of them absolutely furious.

"You know," Brad started, pacing back and forth angrily, "I can't get over how lazy the people running the Ministry are." He paused, looking at Draco and added "No offense."

Draco shrugged his shoulders, hardly offended. Alyssa had left to go to the bathroom upstairs, trying to avoid them as much as possible. She wanted to see Brad and Hermione, of course, but she didn't feel like she had the energy to answer any more questions, or feel anymore emotions for that matter. She shut and locked the door behind her and headed straight for the mirror. Alyssa thought that from all of her previous experience, she'd get used to looking half dead with dirt all over and dark circles under her eyes. Yet her appearance was no less shocking than ever before. Her nose was definitely broken; she gave it a small pinch and winced sharply as her eyes got teary. She looked down at her broken hand to see that it was slightly purple and her fingers and knuckles were incredibly swollen. She sighed and held it to her chest as she leant forward to turn the sink on, and attempted cleaning up her face with her only good hand.

She moved over to the bath tub and turned the faucet on, running her fingers through it until she could see that it was so hot it was already beginning to steam. She added some bubbles, slowly undressed, and discarded her dirty clothes before sliding into the hot bath; her muscles instantly relaxed from the intense heat. She sank deeper into the tub and began to let her heavy eyelids droop, just as there was a knock on the door. Practically being in a trance, Alyssa shot up choking on a mouthful of water and bubbles and continued coughing up as Draco walked in.

"Jeez, I nearly drowned." She rasped, still coughing to clear her throat. She eyed Draco warily, noticing he was only in his pants. He hardly seemed troubled by her shock at his sudden appearance. He merely smirked at her and said, "Scoot."

She smiled and slid forward a bit, making him some room. He slid in gracefully behind her and wrapped his arms around her. A rush of heat surged through her body, and she highly doubted it was due to the wave of the hot water. Alyssa sighed, letting her eyes close again as Draco soothingly rubbed her shoulders.

"Are you feeling better?" He asked.

She absolutely loved feeling his voice rumble against her bare back, but pushed those thoughts away and tried to focus on what he was saying. "Physically, yes. I think I'm really just too tired to feel anything else yet, though."

"I agree with you on that." He said, and started leaving little kisses around her neck. Eventually he paused and Alyssa's eyes flew open at its absence. "Can I ask you something?"

Alyssa craned her neck to try and get a look at him but he simply looked back at her curiously until she gave a nod. "What the hell were you thinking when you apparated away like that? Where did you even end up?"

"I don't even really know, actually – to both questions." She paused for a second, "Wait a minute, you saw that?"

He chuckled, "Yes, I did. That's why I asked. I was maybe… ten feet away from you."

"Silly me," Alyssa said, rolling her eyes. "Who was that guy anyway?"

"Marcus Flint." He said, and she could sense the resentment in his voice. "He was one of my classmates; graduated before you got there. He never was a good person, even then. His parents were involved with Death Eaters as well, they were acquaintances with Lucius. I expected he would end up a Death Eater, we just never knew where he was."

"And how did he end up? Presently, I mean."

Draco hesitated, thinking back to how he had gotten to Flint just as Alyssa disapparated. Flint had had his wand raised at Alyssa's face; Draco made a grab for his wand hand and pulled back sharply, twisting as he did so until he heard the man's shoulder pop. Alyssa turned around again to see him with another smirk on his face, which, she noticed, was in perfect shape again as if nothing ever happened. She questioned him with a raised eyebrow. He inhaled a deep breath before saying: "Broken wrist, dislocated shoulder, precisely three broken ribs, a broken cheekbone and… I'm almost positive he's still unconscious."

Alyssa's jaw fell open, however was still obviously glad to hear the damages of the man who nearly killed her. "Your doing I take it?"

"The one and only." He replied with a smile, "No one hurts you, let alone touches you without suffering the consequences."

She smiled cheerfully and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "You, Draco Malfoy, are simply my favorite."

"Well, I should hope so. You're only planning on mar-"

He would've finished his sentence, but Alyssa was too busy kissing him. She fully turned over so that they were chest to chest, wrapped her arms around his neck and her hand instinctively tangled itself in his soft hair. She ignored the throbbing in her broken hand and splayed her fingers across his shoulder, now wet with droplets of water. Draco sat up straighter so he could get a better hold on her waist, sending a wave of water out of the tub. He nibbled her lips to kiss her more deeply and she grabbed onto him even tighter, nearly yanking his hair out.

"Draco," she murmured against his lips, trying to press pause. Instead she moaned loudly and grabbed the edge of the tub when he pressed his hips against hers. His lips moved down her throat, sucking and biting where he could until her skin turned dark red and she shouted his name to make him stop. He pulled back, surprise and confusion showing on his face.

"What?"

"Sorry…" she said, panting for breath. "But we really need an upgraded tub; I think I'm getting a cramp in my leg." She smiled sheepishly, apologizing for ruining the moment.

"You're right." He said smiling. He looked deep in thought for a moment, contemplating on what to do before saying, "To the bedroom."

* * *

The next week went by as a complete blur. Alyssa's friends, Dan and Alex, went back to Romania to tell Trish's parents what had happened. To soften the blow, or at least make things less difficult, everyone back in England planned the funeral arrangements, sent out letters to other friends, and paid for everything in full. While Alyssa was busy working on that, she was extremely surprised to find out that Draco was working with Ginny to begin planning their wedding. She never figured Draco to be the type to plan weddings, but she was very thankful that he was making the effort. When the time actually came for the funeral, no one seemed to be prepared to face and relive all that had happened, nor to accept the reality of their loss. Before it was time to leave, Alyssa stood in Harry's house, facing her closet, completely unsure of what to wear. She felt disgusted at fretting over something as simple as clothes, but everything she picked out seemed to inappropriate for the occasion.

Draco knocked on the door; He was in an all black suit, holding his cloak in his hand ready to go. She didn't turn to answer. She held two sweaters in her hand, one black, one purple, and she was already dressed in a long black skirt with black boots. Draco walked in and sat on the bed watching her patiently.

"I don't know which one to wear." She said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper; she sounded so distant. Draco didn't know how to reply without making a comment that would upset her so he continued to sit in silence. Alyssa suddenly whipped around, a worried expression on her face and tears in her eyes. "D-do you think the black one is all right? I thought maybe the neckline was too low and I don't want to offend anyone, but now I'm not so sure." She raised the purple sweater up. "Trish really liked purple. She liked this sweater and how it looked with my eyes... but what if her parents get upset by it? What if they knew how much she liked the color purple, and seeing me in purple just looks insensitive and rude?"

By this time Draco had stood up and made his way over to her, placing his hands on her face to get her to calm down. "I think the purple is perfect," he said a few tears slid down her cheeks. "You'll look beautiful, and Trish would've liked it."

Alyssa looked at the purple sweater again, and after dropping the black one to the floor, she clutched it to her chest and started sobbing. Draco pulled her closer to him and held her as she cried it all out. He rubbed her back and stroked her hair trying to soothe her, and eventually her sobs subsided. He pulled back to look at her and wiped the tears off her face with a small smile. "Be strong, Alyssa. You can do this," he said.

She gave him an embarrassed smile and wiped a hand over her face. "I'm sorry... I'm just a wreck." She took a deep, calming breath and slowly exhaled it, "Get it together, Alyssa." she mumbled to herself. "Ugh, I need a drink." She joked, trying to lighten the mood. She put on the purple sweater and smoothed it down before looking at the mirror and smiling weakly at her reflection.

"Are you ready to go?" Draco asked.

"No, but let's just do this." She grabbed his hand and held onto it tightly. Just as they were about to leave the room, she stopped and turned to look at him. "Thank you so much, Draco. For everything. Especially all this wedding stuff; you have no idea how much I appreciate it. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Draco smiled and shrugged one shoulder. "Well, it has been a jibe to my masculinity," he said with a smile, causing her to laugh. "But considering all you've done for me, this is really nothing." He bent down and kissed her deeply, and thankfully he had a strong hold on her waist because her knees went weak. It was incredible how much passion the recent grief had sparked in them. They needed each other more than anything in the world, and the circumstances only proved that fact. As long as they were together, they could get through anything.

"I love you," they said, practically in unison as they broke apart.

* * *

A few days later, Alyssa found herself in Harry's guest room, re-packing her clothes into her giant suitcases. She finally decided it was time to move into the Malfoy Manor; things had finally started to settle down. The funeral, although depressing as it was, sort of changed the mood of the entire group. Through their loss of a beloved friend, they found hope. Hope to live fuller and happier lives, to be fully grateful for the days that they were given, and appreciate that they all had each other. Together they stood as a family, and through thick and thin, fights and wars, together they could conquer any trouble that came their way. Alyssa thought that finally moving in with Draco was an excellent opportunity for the next step. They had also finally found a place and set a date for their wedding; they would be married in two weeks and it ironically would be held at the Manor. They figured it'd be the easiest, it was built to hold occasions like these, and it would be a great time to add happy memories to the place.

She moved to the extra bathroom to grab her toiletries and put them in her bag, before moving on to pack her shoes away. She was startled as there was a knock on the door and she turned to see Harry standing in the doorway. He had the entire weekend off so he was completely in his comfort zone, still wearing his pajamas, at two o'clock in the afternoon.

"How's the packing going?" He asked cheerfully.

Alyssa smiled as she dropped a pair of sneakers into her suitcase and stood to her full height, leaning back to crack her back. "It's going all right, I guess. I didn't realize how many things I brought," she gave an appraising look around the room, "Good thing, though, right?"

Harry took a few steps in the room and nodded in agreement. "It hasn't looked so empty in a while," he commented. "You will be missed."

She frowned visibly. She hadn't really thought of how much she would miss living with Harry; he was her best friend. Not to mention, he was probably the easiest person to live with. The obvious would've been Draco, but he was a bit of a neat freak and she did have her sloppy moments. Harry was extremely down to earth. "I'm really gonna miss you, Harry," she replied, "I seriously appreciate you giving me a place to stay."

He shrugged slightly, "It's nothing, anytime you need anything, just say the word."

Her expression lifted back into a smile and she stepped over her suitcase to give him a tight hug, which he more than happily returned. "Please promise me something," Alyssa started, "Even though I'm moving out and I'll be married soon, please promise me we will always be best friends, forever."

Green eyes met violet and Harry kissed her forehead softly, ruffled her hair and said, "Always."

She pulled away before she let herself get too emotional. "Besides," he continued, "life wouldn't be nearly as tolerable nor entertaining without you."

Alyssa laughed as she grabbed another set of clothes to fold. "I'm glad my ditziness suits your fancy."

Harry chuckled and made his way over to sit on the bed and watch her fold clothes. It brought back memories of the last time they were in this same exact position; when she was packing to leave Hogwarts. He was extremely thankful that this time, she was leaving under much better circumstances, and to go live the life she intended on living with the love of her life.

"So," he said, changing the subject. "How have you been doing?" He wanted to add 'since the funeral' but he didn't know if it was too soft of a subject. She pretty much took the hint, though, and gave him a soft smile.

"It still hurts, but I know she wouldn't have wanted us to sit around moping forever. She would've wanted us to carry on. And she's not completely gone," she glanced skyward as if looking through the ceiling, "She'll always be watching over us, and one day we'll meet again."

Harry nodded but added, "Not for another eighty years, though."

She laughed, nodding as well, "Yes, hopefully." She looked around the room, and noticing she was almost finished, she said "I'm taking a break, let's go back downstairs."

They headed back downstairs and into the kitchen, Harry moved to the fridge to make himself something to eat, and Alyssa continued into the living room to join Jamie on the couch, who was also still in her pajamas. Since they returned from the fight, Harry and Jamie completely hit it off, and Alyssa couldn't have been more happy for them. They seemed perfectly in sync, always knowing what kind of mood the other was in, having almost the completely same interests, and they had the same exact type of humor. It was as if they were made for each other. It looked as if Harry had finally met his match.

Jamie looked up as Alyssa sat down next to her. "How's it goin', girl?" she asked.

"Taking a break," Alyssa replied with a sigh, "My back is starting to ache from all that up and down, up and down."

"Well, you gotta get going some time, you have a wedding to prepare for!"

There was a moment of a burst of exciting giggles between the girls, "I know!" Alyssa practically squealed, "Man, I haven't even picked out a dress yet!"

"Are you kidding me?" Jamie asked, trying to keep her jaw from dropping. "Alyssa, we need to change that ASAP."

"I know, I know," Alyssa agreed, shaking her head at herself. "We'll have to get the girls together on Monday to go dress shopping."

"So it's settled, then." Alyssa nodded, practically beaming; she was one step closer to her wedding.

Later on, Alyssa was back at the Manor moving her stuff in. She was pleased to see Draco had accommodated to her by doubling the size of his already enormous walk-in closet. She smiled happily to herself as she hanged her clothes and put her shoes away. She walked back out of the closet holding an empty suitcase in her hands to find Draco in the bedroom; he had just come back from a meeting and was dressed nicely in a white button up shirt, and dress pants. Now he standing awkwardly, scratching the back of his head with a funny expression on his face.

"What is it?" She asked curiously.

"Er..." He paused and kind of laughed to himself, anticipating her reaction. "My mother wants to meet you."

Alyssa dropped the suitcase to the floor. "Huh?"

"My mother wants to - "

"Yes, I heard what you said." Alyssa snapped, only to be laughed at some more by Draco. She sat on the edge of the bed and nibbled nervously on her fingernails. "But-but why?"

Draco looked oddly at her and quirked his lips at her, "Well, you are marrying her only son. I think that may cause for at least an introduction."

"She won't like me!" Alyssa started; she stood up from the bed and started pacing back and forth across the room. Draco rolled his eyes at her and walked over, and grabbed her shoulders to stop her from moving.

"There's no way she couldn't like you, she'll love you." He paused to let go of her shoulders, yet waited to see if she would start pacing again. When she didn't, he continued. "I mean, if I'm marrying you there has to be something to like."

Alyssa scoffed, "Well I would hope so!"

He shook his head, realizing how bad that sounded, "You know what I meant. I just meant that she supports me and the decisions I make, and honestly there really isn't anything to not like about you... except for maybe your ridiculous and stupid uncertainty." He added the last part quietly, smirking at her as he did.

"But she just seems so... so proper, and elegant, and well... _proper_."

"Your point being?"

"You don't think she'll think I'm ridiculous, or that I don't have manners? Y'know, I do have a reputation for speaking with my foot in my mouth sometimes."

Draco looked at her skeptically, "Like you're doing right now?" He laughed at her expression and said, "I'm only joking!"

"What if she doesn't think I'm good enough for you?" She shook her head at herself and her eyes dropped for a second to stare at the floor, "You are kind of perfect... and wipe that smug look off your face, I can just feel it radiating off you."

He sighed and wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her against his chest. He couldn't believe Alyssa was acting this way; she was always confident in herself and she had never tried hard to impress anyone, except for maybe himself. This was just completely out of character. "Alyssa, listen to me... I am far from perfect; I've made horrible decisions in my life and I've hurt more than a fair share of people. If any one of us is not deserving of the other, it's me who doesn't deserve you. I've seen you at your best and at your worst, and I can tell you that each side is just as great as the other." Alyssa's heart squeezed in her chest and as she looked into his eyes, she was beginning to feel lightheaded. "You're the best person I've ever met, and my mother would be insane not to like you."

He smiled at her encouragingly and she couldn't help but return it. "Besides, even if she doesn't - which won't happen - what does it even matter? It's not going to change a thing. No one in this world could ever change my mind about wanting to spend the rest of my life with you... Not even you."

Alyssa's smile brightened, and she reached up on the tips of her toes to kiss him softly. She couldn't believe that this man was going to soon be her husband. She didn't think she could get any happier than she felt at that moment, and it wasn't even the day of their wedding. She looked down at the diamond ring on her left ring finger and beamed.

"So..." He said, breaking her reverie, "Are you still nervous?"

"How do you do that?" She asked; he cocked an eyebrow, not knowing what she meant. "How do you always have the ability to get rid of any worries in my mind?"

Draco smirked at her, sending chills down her spine and said, "Lots and lots of practice."


End file.
